Gambler's Luck
by Eryis
Summary: A drunken night at a bar; that's how it always starts. A few shots, some self loathing and a decision you would never make when sober. But for Laxus Dreyar, the morning after doesn't include regret, copious amounts of aspirin and a stranger in his bed. For he only made one drunken decision, becoming the personal driver for professional gambler - Freed Justine. [Fraxus Multi-Chap]
1. Chapter 1 - The Night Before

**So here we go! My first Fraxus multi-chap! I'm pretty excited, so I hope you all enjoy reading it! Just a few things to start out with, mainly that i don't have any update schedule thing planned, so it's likely that they'll be a little sporadic. But still, i hope you all enjoy it. Happy reading ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter One – The Night Before**

Six shots of tequila, two tankards full of ridiculously frothy beer and three quarters of a double rum, neat… and some citrus filled cocktail, the name of which escaped him. The combination of those drinks spread across three hours - had it been that long already – had gotten Laxus into the hazy, somewhat sweaty state that was slumped in a wooden stool and leaning against a bar top, actively ignoring the concerned and pitying look that Mirajane was sending him.

Well, he wasn't sure it was concerned and pitying, as he was ignoring it, but he was pretty damn confident it was.

That was, of course, the issue in having a regular bar; specifically one that has an overly empathetic and slightly too involved owner. On the nights that you want to spend some time alone and perhaps even drink until you forget why you arrived in the first place, the aforementioned owner tries to figure out what's gotten you in such a mood and what they can do to get you out of it.

Laxus was very quickly finding out that Mirajane was quite excellent at finding out what had caused him to come to her bar in such a mood. As of yet, though, she had done little to actually help the situation. Unless concerned and pitying glances were an unadvertised breakthrough in therapy and Laxus wasn't feeling the affect just yet. That was unlikely, though.

"I mean, I'm screwed, ain't I?" He groaned, shifting to rest both forearms on the bar. "Who gets fired from being a fucking trash man?"

"You weren't fired, Laxus. They just had to let someone go and-"

"And they looked at me and thought 'out of everyone here, he moves peoples old shit and rotting food onto some truck the worst.' Y'know, in a weird way, I would have rather been fired." He ran his hands through his hair, sighing.

"At least you get a severance check and a pretty good reference." Mirajane smiled, taking the empty glass from the Limoncello Sangria that Laxus had ordered and placing it under the bar to clean later. She patted Laxus' hand, prompting him to grunt and gestured for her to leave him. She sighed, but did.

"Yeah, bet it'll be great." Laxus muttered sarcastically. "I mean, who wouldn't hire me? I'm the guy that moves trash to a replaceable standard."

Expecting the continuation of pitying glances, Laxus looked back down to the bar top and picked up his quarter filled drink. After the shots, all the drinks were starting to taste the same. Maybe that had been why he got the cocktail, an attempt to get a little bit of flavour with his alcohol. It hadn't worked, obviously, as he was still nursing a flavourless rum instead of something that gave the slightest hint of stimulation to his tongue. Either way, the alcohol was the main priority tonight, so he lifted the glass to his lips and drained the remaining rum in a single gulp.

Now left with an empty glass, he began to slowly twirl it around with his finger. After a few moments of silence, other than the gentle scratching of glass against wood, Laxus let out a loud and agitated groan. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing the glass forward. Mirajane glared when she was forced to stop it from falling off and smashing. Perhaps it was the drink, but Laxus noted she looked kind of like Makarov with that expression

Shit. Makarov.

It had been a mistake to tell his grandfather, he knew that now. But the old man had just called him up randomly, asking if he wanted the glass cake stand he had drunkenly brought from eBay of all things, and noticed his mood immediately. Without needing much convincing, Laxus confessed to what had happened. He now regretted it.

"You know, gramps told me he kept the money I give him instead of spending it." Laxus spoke again. "He said I can have it back until I get another job."

"That's good, isn't it?" Mirajane smiled, whipping down a glass.

"No! I gave him that money so he doesn't have to overwork himself." He exhaled loudly, dragging a bowl of peanuts towards him, picking a few up and tossing them into his mouth. "And the check those bastards gave me is fucking tiny, won't last me a month. So, I'm actually gonna have to take it back, like I'm a teenager again or some deadbeat bastard."

"But if its your own money then surely-"

"That's not the point." Laxus groaned. "I don't wanna rely on him for help. I'm twenty-fucking-six, I shouldn't have my grandfather wiping my damn ass." He picked up another handful of peanuts and ate them. "Another rum, please?"

Mirajane sighed, nodded and turned around. She was humming gently as she prepared Laxus' drink – or was the alcohol distorting the music playing through the stereo, the sounds were getting somewhat unintelligible now. Either way, it was a pleasant enough sound and caused enough of a distraction so that his mind didn't wonder to a place of stress and worry about paying bills and rent. Of course, thinking about how he shouldn't think about those issues lead him to actually thinking about the damn issues.

He pushed the bowl of peanuts forward again, not appreciating the taste after all the booze he'd drunk. He picked up a leather bound menu that was standing on the bar top and began to slide his fingers up and down, feeling the indentations of 'Strauss Tavern' that was on the front. It was simply a distraction, something to occupy his hands with while he waited for Mirajane to finish the drink.

She was taking her time, it was only a damn rum.

Carding a hand through his hair to further busy his hands, he payed no attention to the sound of the door opening and gently tapping against the wall that it was connected to. He played just as little attention as the new patron removed his coat, hung it beside the door, and pulled out a stool further down the bar, sitting down without saying a word. He did, however, glance up when he glimpsed Mirajane turn around, hoping to see his drink being placed on the bar. Instead, Mirajane was looking towards the new person in the room.

Laxus didn't focus on what she said, but she sounded happy. She walked towards the new guy, Laxus following her with his eyes. She was leaning over the bar by the time his gaze caught up with her, smiling at the guy who had come in. Was the guys hair green? He wasn't that drunk that colours changed, was he?

Uninterested by the newcomer, he looked forward again to the wall of bottles behind the bar. There was no sign of his rum being poured, other than a glass filled with ice. He didn't have ice in his drinks; Mirajane's customer service was slipping. If he leant forward, he could probably reach the bottle and the glass from where he was. But if she caught him, she'd get mad and cut him off for the night. He could wait, probably.

"Oh, I should introduce the two of you. Laxus," When Mirajane said his name, Laxus looked up. "This is Freed, we knew each other as kids. Freed, this is Laxus, one of my regulars."

Laxus raised a hand, somewhat lethargically, to greet the other man. Freed sent him a small smile and returned the raised hand gesture. At least, that's what Laxus assumed happened, his vision was still blurred when he moved his head too fast.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Freed said, his voice almost chocolatey. Which didn't make sense, as chocolate wasn't a sound. Still, it was a comparison Laxus would stand by.

"You too." Laxus grumbled, nodding. He looked back to Mirajane. "Can I get my drink now, Mira."

"Sure." Mirajane smiled. "One second, Freed."

When Mirajane turned back to make Laxus' drink, the blonde dragged the bowl of peanuts towards him, suddenly craving the taste again. As he threw a small handful to the back of his throat, he glanced towards the other man in the bar. He frowned, turning his head fully to see that Freed was looking at him. Well, it was more like a stare really.

The frown still present on his face, he looked towards Mirajane as she finished his drink and placed it in front of him. He lifted it to his lips and gulped down half of it, pulling a face as he identified it as a rum and coke instead of straight rum. When she started changing his drinks orders to something less alcoholic, it meant she was trying to sober him up slightly, so she could close up without felling guilty for sending him home completely drunk. She probably wanted to close up early to talk to the green haired guy. It was fair, but Laxus couldn't help being a little offended.

Speaking of the other guy, Laxus snuck another glance at him. He was still staring at him for some reason.

"Something wrong?" He grunted, possibly more aggressively than he intended.

"Ignore him, he's in a bad mood today. Lost his job today." Mirajane smiled, patting Laxus' hand when he glared at the now public announcement that he was unemployed. "D'you still drink blended malt, Freed?"

After Freed nodded, Mirajane reached up for a bottle of his favoured drink, glaring at Laxus when he muttered his annoyance about how Freed gets the drink he desired while he's stuck with a diluted, overly sweet version of his. Laxus would have been pissed if, when he checked his bar tab, he got charged for a double rum when he didn't get one. Unless the double rum was cheaper, in which he would have been annoyed if he had to pay for a drink he didn't order. Either way, he would have been pissed if he had to pay for the more expensive drink.

Almost the moment Mirajane placed the drink in front of Freed – the drink he ordered, no less – the door to the bar opened again. This time, it was considerable harder to ignore who came in as there was a lot of laughing, screeching and general loud, obnoxious noises. When Laxus glanced to see why they were being so loud, he saw a large group of women wearing pink sashes, one wearing a crappy, plastic tiara. A bachelorette party. Fantastic.

By the exasperated, unimpressed look on Mirajane's face, she was just as annoyed by the group of women walking towards the wide corner booth at the far end of the bar. Whether it was because of the noise they were making or the probable chance that she would be working later than expected; Laxus didn't care. He was too busy coming to the realisation that a bachelorette party was a much better deterrent than a rum and coke.

"Guess I'll go and deal with them." Mirajane sighed through slightly gritted teeth. "You two, play nice."

She was walking from behind the bar and towards the group of women before either man could reply. Laxus sighed and glanced towards Freed, who was sipping down the drink he had been given. Laxus picked up his glass and did the same, the sweet flavour tasting a little better on his tongue now. He could deal with sound of the women, at least until he finished his drink.

He glanced towards Freed again, who was now looking down at his phone while tapping his fingers against his glass. Why had he been looking at him before? And, perhaps more importantly, why wasn't he looking at him now?

Apparently, the guy had managed to hear what he had thought. As Laxus began to frown at him, Freed turned his head and looked directly towards him with a smile. He clearly noticed the frown and the fact Laxus had been looking at him for a few seconds, so Laxus didn't bother trying to pass it off as a random glance.

"Something wrong?" Freed mirrored Laxus' words, with considerably less aggression. Laxus laughed, somewhat bitterly.

"You kidding? I lost my job, I've barely got enough to pay rent on a crappy apartment and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to start relying on my fucking grandad for money again." He groaned, turning his body to face Freed. "And I've got no fucking idea why I told you any of that. Sorry."

"It's fine. I'd rather listen to you that the…" He glanced towards the group of girls, who were now loudly relaying their orders in unnecessarily loud voices. "Celebrations. So, if its not too invasive a question, what did you do before today?"

"Garbage collector." Laxus chuckled without humour. "As a kid, you never think you'll be sad about not being able to haul bags of trash into a truck, do you? Life's a bitch."

Freed gave a sympathetic chuckle and picked up his drink, throwing a bit of it to the back of his throat. Laxus did the same, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence – ignoring the laughter from the corner booth of course. Both men watched as Mirajane returned to the bar, pulling out a large number of glasses and bottles from the illuminated wall of alcohol. Given the unamused expression on her face and the amount of drinks she was going to be making, both men thought it would be best for her to be left alone.

The silence remained for a short while longer, Laxus slowly draining the glass of the diluted alcohol. When the glass was empty, other than the remaining ice cubes, he considered leaving. But the thought going to the crap apartment he may soon be leaving wasn't an attractive one. Not when he still had a lot to get off his chest, and a guy seemingly willing to let him do it.

"I'm not even qualified for anything." Laxus groaned, Freed looking towards him. "I mean, I've got my LVG licence, or whatever the hell its called. The one that lets me drive the truck. So I guess I can drive, do UPS or FedEx or some crap like that."

"You don't seem too enthused by that idea." Freed took another sip of his drink.

"I dunno. I like driving, and I'm fine doing it for a job, its just…" He trailed off, leaning on his hand in exasperation. "Garbage collecting was always meant to be the job I took until I got something better. Going around the city, delivering books or pallets or whatever UPS deliver just seems like more of the same, just with a different uniform. And I swear to god if you suggest being a taxi driver…"

"I wasn't going to." Freed chuckled slightly. "Do a lot of people suggest that?"

"All the damn time. And I don't care if it pays well or whatever, I'm not gonna drive around the city so I can end up driving with, well, that." He nodded towards the group of cackling women.

Again, the two fell into silence. Laxus absentmindedly played with his glass, gently swirling it around his finger and listening to the melting ice clinking together. From the corner of his eye, he could see Freed drain the rest of his own drink and place it on the bar top. He didn't seem as if he wanted to leave just yet, most likely so he could have another drink. Mirajane was still serving the group of girls, so he wouldn't be getting one anytime soon.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket – or maybe that was just when he noticed it. He groaned, pulling it out of his pocket to see his grandfather's name on the screen. He cancelled the call, not wanting to seem like a drunk as well as unemployed.

He placed his phone back into his pocket and leant on the bar, half tempted to reach over and get a little more booze into his system for the second time that night. Mira would kill him if she found out, or just charge him for whatever he drunk. He wasn't sure exactly which was worse, so didn't risk it. Instead, he looked back to Freed, who was frowning at him.

"My grandad." He explained. "Apparently he saved the money I sent him to put into a retirement account. Wants to give it back to me. Don't know why, but it kinda makes me feel worse than if I were struggling without his help."

"I'm sure he has good intentions."

"Maybe." Laxus grumbled. "I just think that I'm at the point where I should look after him, y'know. Not the other fucking way around." He groaned again, leaning on his hand to look at Freed. "You ever had to deal with this?"

"I can't say I have." Freed chuckled.

"You're lucky." Laxus muttered. "I just feel so fucking useless today, y'know. Can't keep a stable job, can't live without having to take handouts from family, can't even handle the same amount of booze I could five years ago." The last statement was accompanied with a spiteful chuckle. "And now I feel like I'm repeating myself, you probably didn't even give a shit the first time. Probably some big company exec who wanted to get away from people bitching about work. Sorry."

"Its fine, honestly." Freed assured him. "And, I do sympathise, not having work can be hard."

When Laxus didn't reply, Freed looked at the other man with studying eyes. Laxus frowned slightly, not sure what Freed's judgmental eyes were looking for, but he didn't say anything. He was just gonna wait for Mira to return from serving the drinks, say goodbye, promise to pay his tab when he was sober and leave. Freed and his analytical eyes would be a hazy memory overthrown by the splitting headache of a hangover Laxus would have to endure in the morning.

Freed, seeing Laxus' eyes flitter towards the door behind him and predicting what that meant, sat up straight. As intended, it got the blonde's attention.

"You said you don't enjoy taking handouts from your family, correct?"

"Yeah." Laxus grunted in reply.

"What is your opinion on taking a, perhaps misguided, offer from a stranger in a bar?" At Freed's question and small smirk, Laxus sat up also.

"The hell are you talking about?" Laxus frowned.

"I'm in a financial position to pay someone a decent salary, I travel a lot and I don't particularly enjoy driving. You need a job, you want a step up from your last one and said you enjoyed driving. To me, the logical step is to offer you the position of being my chauffeur." The other man's smirk widened, Laxus leaning forward slightly in attention. "So, what I suppose I'm asking, Laxus," Freed's smirk settled into a grin. "How willing are you to take a gamble on me?"


	2. Chapter 2 - The Morning After

**Chapter Two – The Morning After**

A hangover is a cruel, cruel thing. When you drink, you only expect to wake up with an ear splitting headache in the morning. This, apparently, isn't a large enough deterrent to stop you from drinking yourself into a near catatonic state. So, while you're slamming empty shot glasses against the bar, your mind ignores the incoming dehydration, dizziness, stomach troubles and spikes in anxiety that will come after a nightmare filled sleep; if you're lucky enough to actually get any sleep, that is. Of course, when you do wake up and are forced to undergo seemingly every horrendous feeling possible that a person can feel, you wonder why they hell you didn't remember what a hangover felt like from the last time you drunk yourself into a stupor.

This was a question Laxus was asking himself as he ran his hand through his hair and pushed away his fringe, wincing at the small crack of light coming through his partially closed bedroom curtains. He sat up slowly, glancing towards his scrunched-up comforter that was strewn across the other side of his bed; he must have been too hot and kicked it off in the middle of the night. As he was still covered in a layer of sweat, he concluded it was a good choice. Unconscious or not.

As he left the relative comfort of his bed, he considered the question the hangover left him. The answer was obvious. He hadn't forgotten how bad a hangover was, he'd just considered the risk more appealing than a sober night alone with his thoughts. Perhaps he had been right, but anything sounded better than a hangover while he was going through it.

"Christ." He hissed quietly as he closed his bedroom door, the sound too loud for his pulsing head.

He trudged to his kitchen, opening the wall mounted cupboard and grabbing both an empty glass and a small pot of energy boosting tablets that he took whenever he was hungover. He filled the glass with water and dropped the tablet in, watching it fizz and stain the water a weak orange colour. As he drank, he winced at the gaudy green tiles on his kitchen wall; his landlord wouldn't let him change them despite asking on multiple occasions. If he couldn't pay rent, he probably wouldn't have to see those tiles again…

Shit. There it was. He'd managed about two minutes of being awake without thinking of _why_ he'd drunk himself into such a state.

Leaning on his kitchen worktop, he rested his head in his hands and groaned. A hazy mess of the previous day practically flooded his mind, of course focusing on the most negative aspects. He remembered quite vividly being made redundant, Makarov offering him financial aid like he was some pre-teen going to the mall with his friends, and trudging into Mira's bar with the intention to drink his troubles away. That was where the memory became more of a haze.

Closing his eyes to block out the light from the opened window, he tried to focus on what he'd done in the bar. He'd drunk a lot and mixed his drinks, but that was obvious by the state he was in. He'd managed to get home with a taxi, which he shouldn't have done as his money was apparently tight. He also vaguely remembered talking to someone who wasn't Mira for quite some time, but he couldn't remember what he had actually spoken about; he'd probably just complained to the unlucky guy, he was apparently a mopey drunk.

Sighing, he pushed himself off the counter top, trudging towards his bathroom to try and have a half productive day instead of spending it dominated by a hangover and the need to feel sorry for himself. His shower was short-lived, the wavering temperature because of an unreliable boiler mixed with the pulsing headache made it less than a relaxing experience. His breakfast was more successful, even if it was just two reheated slices of pizza that he'd ordered three days before and hadn't yet thrown out. He didn't do his morning gym session, it was open twenty-four hours a day, so he'd wait until his hangover had subsided slightly and he could better concentrate.

Slumping into his sofa and switching on the TV, he thought back to the night before again and tried to better piece his thoughts together. The memories were still a mess, but he was starting to fill in a few of the gaps.

There was a large group of women that came in and were eventually kicked out; he vaguely remembered a glass being thrown to the floor, so that was probably why. He could also remember more about the guy he had talked to. His hair definitely was green – he remembered being confused about that on the night as well – he was a childhood friend of Mira's, and the two of them had spoken for quite a long time, definitely until Mirajane wanted to close up so she could go home. He also had the faint memory of writing his phone-number down on a napkin and giving it to him. Would he do that with a stranger?

Yes, apparently he would.

When he checked his phone, had two unread messages. The most recent was from Makarov, probably telling him he needed to answer his phone or threatening Laxus with an unannounced visit so they could discuss what to do about his job; Laxus scanned past the message before he could be sure, though. The other was from an unregistered string of numbers, obviously from the guy at the bar. He opened it with a yawn.

 **From: (+44-62048-848219)**

 _Hey. I don't know how much of_ _last night you remember, but we_

 _met at Strauss Tavern. I'm Freed._ _If you don't remember, we talked_

 _for a little while and I offered you_ _a job._

The message didn't end there, but the reminder of both the mans name, Freed, and the offer of Laxus becoming his driver caused Laxus to stop reading. The message reminded him of the entire conversation they'd had and how it had ended.

* * *

 _"Wait, hold on a second." Laxus grumbled. "Say it again."_

 _He was slumped against the bar, looking at Freed with a frown on his face. The guy had basically just offered him the job of being his driver. He'd offered a stranger a job. A stranger who was barely conscious, who had just spent however long complaining about his problems and who had given him absolutely no reason to trust him. The only conclusion: Freed was either as drunk as Laxus and better at hiding it, or he was an idiot._

 _Freed seemed pretty amused by Laxus' confusion, as he was smiling slightly. Or was it a grin? The blur in Laxus' sight didn't let him discern which. At the least, he could see him move from the barstool he was sitting on to the one to Laxus' right._

 _"I want you to be my driver." He said, bluntly this time. "You need a job, I want a driver. There's only one logical step, in my opinion."_

 _Laxus wanted to explain just how wrong that was. How the most logical step would be for Laxus to spend his newly gained free time trawling through job application websites so he could get a new job the normal way, and for Freed to advertise and audition people who weren't drunk at a bar to see if he could find someone better suited to be his driver. But he didn't say any of that because, perhaps against his better judgement, he was actually considering the merits of Freed's proposal._

 _He'd spent just under six years of his life waking up early in the morning, driving a garbage-truck around a city not meant to be traversed in anything larger than a car, wearing stupidly uncomfortable overalls and moving bags and bags full of trash around. He imagined driving some guy, who was probably pretty wealthy, around the city in a reasonably sized vehicle would be much more enjoyable._

 _But still, it was an insane idea. Things like this didn't happen in reality, and they certainly didn't happen to Laxus. If he were to believe in karma, he might consider this fate paying him back, be didn't believe in karma. He believed that the universe had no sense of conscience and certainly didn't care for the insignificant people who lived inside of it._

 _Wow. He turned practically nihilistic when drunk._

 _"You're seriously just gonna-" He stopped himself, gulping down the sensation of vomit rising in his throat. "Seriously just gonna offer me a job. I could've been lying about losing my job for attention. Or be some drug dealer or whatever."_

 _"You might, but I don't think so." Freed chuckled. "I don't think anyone is that committed to wanting attention that they'd convince Mirajane to introduce the topic of you losing your job to the next person who arrives at the bar. And you're not a drug dealer. If you were, you wouldn't worry about money and you'd probably be getting drunk in a bar much more luxurious than this."_

 _Laxus winced as Mirajane took Freed's empty glass away from him with a glare. Freed, to his credit, met the glare with a charming smile and the request for another drink. He had guts, Mira could be intimidating when she wanted to be._

 _Leaning back in his stool and watching Mirajane pour more of whatever Freed was drinking, Laxus began to consider what working for Freed would be like. He seemed like a decent guy,_ _willing to have a little bit of fun by annoying Mirajane. And the job itself didn't sound too bad. Perhaps he was being idealistic, but he began to imagine lavish town cars, wearing a suit instead of crappy overalls and taking Freed to art galleries or wherever the rich people of Magnolia actually went to spend their free time._

 _At this, he began to wonder what Freed did for a living._

 _"People don't do this." Laxus exclaimed after a few moments, perhaps louder than he expected as Mirajane shot him a look. "Nobody gives someone a job because it's convenient. What's the r-real reason you're doing it?"_

 _"You're quite the pessimist, aren't you?" He chuckled. "And, I suppose I know what it's like to have to rely on someone. Sometimes it goes wrong and you're left in a worse position than you were before. That's not a nice feeling, so I suppose I'm trying to stop that from happening with you. Are you okay with that?"_

 _"I guess." Laxus sighed. "But won't I just be relying on you. Kinda gets rid of the point... I said that right, didn't I?"_

 _"More or less. It was understandable." Freed smirked. "And you'll rely on me no more than you relied on your previous boss. This isn't just a favour. If you agree, I'll create a contract, you'll get a predetermined monthly wage for your services and you'll get the same rights as anyone with else who is formally employed. You'll have a job, only you would have been offered it in a slightly unconventional way."_

 _The contract sounded good. That meant if Freed made him drive around the town and didn't pay him, he'd at least have some form of backup. It also meant this wasn't a 'favour for a friend' kind of thing that would end up biting him in the ass because Freed wasn't legally obligated to pay him. He stopped, thinking how similar to one of the reality TV courtroom shows he'd started to watch..._

 _There was a chance he'd have to watch a lot more of them if he didn't get a job soon._

 _"What d'you even do. Who earns enough to give someone else a constant wage?"_

 _"I'm a professional gambler."_

 _"Really? Sounds kinda unsafe." Laxus said, getting somewhat defensive. "What's gonna stop you pissing your money away and not being able to pay me?"_

 _"Other than the contractual obligation, I have a high amount of money saved that could easily cover your salary. And I haven't once used those savings to gamble, before you ask." Despite Freed's assurance, Laxus didn't seem convinced. "Okay, you clearly don't trust me. How much did you make per year by being a garbage man, if you don't mind me asking?"_

 _"About thirty-five-thousand dollars?"_

 _Freed seemed to be in thought, Laxus watching him with interest. After a moment, he looked back to Laxus. "With the amount I've got in my account right now, I can match that wage consistently, without putting anything into the account and without changing my lifestyle, for at least three years. So you'll have payment security for that long at least."_

 _Laxus frowned again. If that was true, even if he hated driving Freed around for some reason, he could have up to at least three years of regular payment while he looked for a good job that he liked. Yes, he would like to be paid more than he had before, but he could discuss that with Freed._

 _Damn, it was good he wasn't an overly impulsive or stupid drunk. If he was, he probably would have agreed to drive Freed anywhere for free or something stupid like that._

 _"So, what, I just say I wanna do it and you give me the job?" Laxus asked as Mirajane gave Freed his drink and walked over to the bachelorette party in the corner._

 _"Not exactly. You might wake up tomorrow and change your mind. I wouldn't want to be disappointed and I wouldn't want you to feel obligated to take a job you don't want." Freed smiled. "So, if you're considering it, why don't you give me your number and I'll text you in the morning. We can organise a meeting discussing your salary, go into more detail about what I'll want you to do and, of course, if you actually want to take the job at all. I suspect you'd rather make this kind of decision when you're in a better state of mind."_

 _After a few moments contemplation, Laxus reached down the bar and took the small napkin dispenser. He pulled one out, fumbling with the wispy fabric before eventually pulling an unwrapped napkin out. He patted his pockets to see if he had a pen, Freed eventually taking one from the inside breast pocket to the blazer he was wearing and handing it to. Laxus hadn't noticed Freed was wearing a suit until then, somehow._

 _He wrote down his phone number, again against his better judgement, and handed it towards Freed. He watched as his possible new boss quickly saved the number into his phone and placed it back in the same pocket the pen had come from. Laxus handed him back the pen as well, before he forgot to give it back later in the evening._

 _"I'm glad we have an agreement." Freed smiled. "I'll find a place for us to meet tomorrow, if that's okay."_

 _"Yeah, it'll be fine." Laxus grunted, before quietly mumbling. "It'll get gramps off my back, at least."_

 _"I look forward to it." Freed nodded, raising the glass to his lips. He gulped down some of his drink before looking back to Laxus. "Are you finished drinking for the night? It would be nice to have your company for a little while longer."_

 _"Guess I can have one more, now that money ain't as tight as I thought." He nodded, looking to Mirajane. She was watching the bachelorette party with slightly narrowed eyes. He turned back to Freed with a chuckle. "But I won't be able to stay much longer. Got a job interview in the morning, don't wanna go with a hangover. Might make the guy think I spent all night drinking and feeling sorry for myself."_

 _Freed laughed slightly, nodding. "I'm in the same position. Only I'll be interviewing someone instead of being interviewed. I'd say you shouldn't worry, but I would judge my interviewee quite harshly if he turned up drunk or hungover. I wouldn't even consider offering him a job. First impressions are important, after all."_

 _Laxus' frown intensified, looking to Freed only to be met with a grin that could be considered teasing, if it wasn't seen through haze filled eyes. It took a few seconds for Laxus to realise Freed was joking with him, but he laughed slightly when he did. Freed joined him, before taking the glass to his lips again and drinking more of whatever alcohol he liked. Laxus suddenly found himself craving a drink again._

 _As he looked towards Mirajane to get her attention, a loud smashing sound echoed through the near empty bar followed by screeching of shock and amusement. Both he and Freed looked to see the group of women looking at the floor, where a martini glass had clearly been smashed. They then both glanced towards Mirajane, who's clenched jaw was now more obvious as she began to slowly move from behind the bar and towards the unapologetic group of drunk women. Both men shared a worried look, directing their gaze towards the bar as to not be involved in whatever was going to happen next._

 _It was the right choice. Mirajane could yell when she wanted to._

* * *

After replaying the previous night through his mind, Laxus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Which was a mistake, as having anything touch his head seemed to send a painful shock through his entire body and add to the aching he was experiencing.

Now with a sober, if not aching mind, he considered Freed's offer. It was pretty good of Freed to suggest meeting when he wasn't drunk, especially because Freed himself might have been getting a buzz at that point. The terms he'd suggested did seem pretty reasonable as well, and he could debate them if he didn't like them. And driving the car of a rich guy was a much more dignified job that driving a garbage truck. He wouldn't have to lie to his school friends at school reunions if he took the job, not that he'd even consider going to those stupid events made by the popular people from his class who wanted to show off they'd married rich or whatever.

Deciding that he should at least meet with Freed and make a final decision on if he wanted the job later, he picked his phone up again and read the entirety of the message that Freed had sent him.

 **From: (+44-62048-848219)**

 _Hey. I don't know how much of_ _last night you remember, but we_

 _met at Strauss Tavern. I'm Freed._ _If you don't remember, we talked_

 _for a little while and I offered you_ _a job._

 _You might not remember, but I_ _suggested we meet so you can_ _make_

 _a decision while sober and_ _we can discuss the terms of your_ _employment;_

 _if you agree, of_ _course._

 _There's a small café beside_ _the bar we were at. I can be there_ _f_ _rom ten to_

 _around eleven thirty, so_ _please be there at that time if you_ _want the job_

 _or are considering it._ _If not, please message me so._

 _Thanks, Freed J._

The first thing Laxus noticed was how formal Freed texted, which made sense as he was messaging someone who might be his employee by the end of the day. The second thing he noticed was that it was currently ten minutes past eleven in the morning and he would only manage to get to the cafe before Freed left if he left almost immediately. And even then, there was no guarantee.

With the risk of him missing the chance at the job, he realised he wanted it more than he first thought. Yes, he was still cautious about taking a job from a stranger who he met in a bar, but he was also slightly thrilled by the idea of making such a change in his life. Perhaps it _was_ too good to be true and would end up blowing up in his face and he would have made an ass out of himself for thinking otherwise, but he didn't really care. It seemed like it had been years since he'd done anything with any sense of risk. He deserved to do something that wasn't safe and had no way of backfiring on him.

Saving Freed's number into his phone, he stood up and winced at the headrush he experienced. After recovering, he slipped into his coat, picked his keys up and wrote a reply to Freed, walking through the door a moment later.

 **To: Freed (Job)**

 _Hi. Yeah I remember what happened_ _last night. Honestly I just woke up_

 _and read this so I might not be there_ _on time. Sorry. I know I shouldnt ask_

 _but if i'm a few minutes late would_ _you mind waiting. I really want to_ _do it._

 _thanks. This is Laxus, by the_ _way. Should have mentioned that._ _sorry._


	3. Chapter 3 - The Interview

**Hey, so this took little longer than I hoped. College seems to love having assignments due at the same time. I'm going to aim for one chapter every two weeks. Whether or not I keep to that is an entirely different thing, but I'll aim for it non the less.**

 **Also, a huge thanks and shoutout to Sel (Furidojasutin) for her amazing aesthetic she made for this fic. It's so good and it was such a treat to see. If you have a tumblr account, please follow her and giver her loads of love.**

 **Happy reading ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Three – The Interview**

"I am so fucking sorry I'm late."

Upon hearing the slightly breathless words, Freed looked up from the cup of coffee he was nursing with both hands. Standing before him was the blonde man who he had met the night before, looking less dishevelled than he had in their previous encounter. Scanning his face, he saw a small flush on the man's cheeks and noticed his chest rising and falling slightly. It seemed to Freed that he had ran, or at least jogged, to get to the café before Freed left. There was no need to, Freed had replied to his message saying that he was happy to wait. But if he was rushing, Laxus might not have actually seen the reply.

"When I woke up I'd completely blanked out what happened last night because… well, you were there. You know why." Laxus continued. "And by the time I checked my phone, it was too late for me to get here on time. But I did leave when I realised, if that counts for anything."

Still watching the other man, Freed noticed that Laxus' hands were resting against a chair directly opposite him, fiddling with the wicker. Was it a nervous habit? Perhaps; he had justification in being nervous.

"I don't mind. I shouldn't have given you such a strict time to be here, my apologies." Freed motioned to the chair Laxus was leaning on. "Please, sit down."

The blonde nodded and pulled the wicker chair out from under the table, sitting opposite Freed and shuffling slightly. Freed continued to watch the blonde, lifting the cup of coffee to his lips and not speaking for a few moments. Laxus' eyes flickered between a slightly awkward direct gaze of eye contact to the empty table they were both sitting at. He didn't hold his gaze in either place for too long, flicking between them with an enigmatic half-smile on his face.

He was definitely nervous, Freed concluded. But not a nervous that made him frightened, a nervous that made him excited. Given what they had spoken about the night before, about Laxus' lack of life satisfaction as of late, the nervous excitement at a change of lifestyle made sense.

After what Freed deemed enough time to silently analyse his possible future employee, Freed placed his mug back onto the table and smiled slightly. He rested both his forearms on the table in a slightly crossed position, his body language more open than it had been before. He noticed Laxus' flickering eyes look towards the movement and resisted the urge to chuckled. The blonde was undeniably nervous.

"So, I'm assuming that you remember what the actual offer is." Freed began again. "I Just want to make sure, before I go into the specifics of what I want of you."

"Yeah, I do." Laxus nodded, his voice not portraying the nervousness. Interesting. "You want me to drive you around the city. And you're a professional gambler, so I guess I'll take you to poker tournaments and casinos or whatever."

"That's right, although you'll more often be taking me to apartment complexes and town houses than you will casinos." Freed noticed Laxus' forehead crinkle slightly. "I'll explain later, I expect you're more interested about how much money you'll be making and your work hours rather than being reminded on what you already know."

Freed reached down and unbuckled the leather satchel he had resting against the table's leg, pulling out a small stack of paper in a plastic folder. He placed it on the table and turned it so it was facing Laxus, pushing it towards him. The blonde picked it up and began to scan his eyes across it, Freed allowing this to continue for a few moments before speaking again.

"As I said last night, I've been looking into employing someone for this for a short while. This is a contract I drafted, it contains what I propose for payment, it goes into greater details about what I'll require from you if you take the job, and some other things you'll need to know." Freed explained, watching as Laxus turned the page of small writing. "Obviously, feel free to look through it at your pleasure and if there's something you're not happy with, we can discuss and debate changes before you sign it.

"But, as I've been told I can sometimes go into too much detail in writing, I'll summarise the most important aspects." He picked up a pen from beside his half empty mug. "If you'll let me have the contract, I can show you where I'm quoting so you can be sure I'm telling the truth."

After Laxus placed the contract down on the table again, Freed leaned over and began to explain the more important details. If he took the job, Laxus would be expected to from Tuesdays to Saturdays every week with the working day starting at nine in the morning and ending at six at night. During that time, Freed would be able to call Laxus and request he drive him to any location he required and would drive him back whenever Freed needed.

Laxus nodded along, scanning the contract with his eyes to see it coincided with what Freed was saying. The blonde frowned slightly when he saw his how much he would be earning with the new job. Needless to say, Freed had done a little more than match his previous wage.

"Fucking hell." He mumbled, scanning the number once more to be sure he hadn't misread it. "Fifty-three grand a year? That's, erm, that's a grand and a half every month more than I got before. Seriously?"

"Yes. Well, I might need you to work overtime once in a while because my schedule can be a little bit unpredictable. So of course, I'll pay you an appropriate amount for encroaching on your time if the eventuality ever occurs." Freed chuckled gently when he noticed Laxus' eyes widen a fraction wider. "We can discuss how much you'll be paid overtime later and add it into the contract, if you wish." He paused for a moment. "Would you like a drink? I should have asked that before, my apologies."

"Don't worry about it." Laxus said, slightly vacantly. "And a coffee please. Black, two sugars, thanks."

As Freed nodded and walked to the counter, Laxus leant back in his chair slightly. He had never been an overly materialist person, but he had grown up appreciating the fact money made life easier. Having this amount of money would definitely make his life a hell of a lot easier. Hell, if he saved for long enough he might even have enough to live in an apartment that didn't have a kitchen that made him nauseous every time he used it.

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, he shouldn't be thinking like that. This all sounded too good to be true and it very likely was. There was almost definitely a downside to this, or it would be a con of some kind. People didn't get this lucky. Laxus didn't get this lucky.

Watching Laxus scolded himself in his head, Freed leant on the counter as the barista made Laxus his coffee. The blonde was obviously having some inner turmoil about his pay, perhaps because it was a fairly large wage increase, perhaps because he didn't trust Freed enough to actually make good on the money. Either way, Freed concluded that Laxus had a rather expressive face and he was easy to read. He would have to make an effort not to overanalyse him too much, he didn't want to be invasive on his new employee. If he still wanted to become his employee, of course.

"Here." Freed smiled slightly as he placed the steaming coffee down, bringing Laxus out of his train of thought. "If you've got any questions you'd like to ask me, please feel free."

"Well, I do have a couple." Laxus leant onto his forearms when Freed motioned for him to go on. "You mentioned that we wouldn't be going to many casinos or poker tournaments. I kinda expected them to be the places a gambler would spend time at. I didn't imagine when you said you gambled for a living, right?"

"No, I did say that. I do occasionally visit casinos for a little fun, but that's not where I make any real money." Freed noticed Laxus' forehead wrinkle again. He seemed to do that a lot. "I have private meetings with the wealthy members of society who know about me and we gamble with relatively high stakes. I win most of the time, the people I gamble with are usually quite arrogant and they're easy to know when they're bluffing. Their eyes brag subconsciously."

"They know you? You some kind of celebrity?" Laxus chuckled slightly.

"You have to pay for autographs, I'm afraid." Freed smirked, a small grin forming on Laxus' face. "And I'd say more infamous that I would famous. I think I've won so much from them that, in some circles, losing money to me has become a rite of passage."

Laxus chuckled again and leant back in the chair, silently wondering how somebody could get into that kind of career. He also had to wonder how good Freed must be at gambling. It seemed the slightly insane part of the blondes wasn't just restrained to life changing decisions, because it was also screaming that he and Freed should play poker. Low to no stakes though, he had no doubt Freed could ruin his bank account if he was as good as the evidence would suggest.

Taking a sip of the somewhat cooled coffee, the blonde felt his shoulders untense slightly. He hadn't noticed they were tense in the first place, but the combined stress of one moment lacking any prospects or income to then having to rush to get the new job must have caused stress he hadn't realised had formed. But that made him frown again, had his subconscious just told him to take the job?

He shook that thought off quickly. He couldn't justify making this big of a choice on the tension in his shoulders.

"Erm, if I do take the job how would the car work?" Laxus said to distract himself, Freed's eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. "I don't have a car, and even if I did I doubt you'd wanna be seen in what I can afford, so would you have to have a car that I drive. And if I do, where do we keep it, 'cause I don't know if the street outside of my apartment is the kind of place that you'll wanna keep an expensive car."

"You'll be driving my car. You walked past it actually, if you came from the left." Freed grinned a little when Laxus looked over his shoulder to the street outside. "And I rent a garage for my cars. If you take the job, I'll give you the passcode and you can store it there whenever you need to." He smiled a little when Laxus nodded, glad the other man was considering the job in this detail. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No, can't think of anything." Laxus said after a moment. "Do I have to decide now? I still feel kind of, I don't know, overwhelmed by this. One moments I'm drunk feeling sorry for yourself, the next I'm here. Guess I need a little time to think things over a little."

"Oh. Of course, of course." Freed nodded, pushing the contract towards Laxus. "You can keep this, I've got a copy and my laptop. And I assume you'd want to read through it or give it to a lawyer to check out, so by all means do. Take all the time you need and text me if you wish to meet up again."

"Yeah, thanks." Laxus nodded, picking up the contract. "So, are we done then? It feels like we should have more to say or…"

Freed chuckled a little as Laxus trailed off his sentence. "Well, I've got nothing else I think you should know and I assume you'd ask if you had anything you were confused. So, I suppose we are done for now."

Laxus nodded and picked up his nearly full mug of coffee. He wrapped one hand around it and gulped down the entirety of the drink, absently wondering if Freed expected him to pay for it. He would have mentioned it if he wanted, surely. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that would avoid asking for something he wanted. Besides, if he was that bothered by it he could dock his first wages to the amount the coffee costed.

He'd subconsciously accepted Freed's offer. For the second time since they'd met. Interesting.

Placing his mug on the table, he noticed that Freed too had drained his drink. The blonde stood up and pushed the chair under the table with his knee, Freed also standing. The two looked at each other for a short moment before Freed spoke.

"Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not far from here, little apartment on King's Avenue. Why?"

"I planned to do a workout once we finished. I drive past King's Avenue to get to my gym, I think. There's a convenience store at the corner, isn't there?" Freed hummed slightly when Laxus nodded. "I'd be happy to drive you to your apartment if you'd like. It's not a bother, since I'll be going past it anyway."

"You sure?" Laxus asked hesitantly, Freed nodding. "Thanks, that's good of ya."

As both men left the café, Laxus absentmindedly fiddled with the contract in his left hand. He was still half tempted to just agree to take the job here and now. He'd decided to go through with the interview on a whim because it was something exciting and had a sense of risk. He could easily do the same and take the job for the same reason. Although, taking a job because it was a risk was entirely different league of stupidity compared to going to an interview because it was a risk.

The blonde was taken form his internal debate when he noticed Freed pull a set of keys out of his pocket and unlock his car. His eyes widened a fraction when he saw the headlights of Freed's car light up. Freed defiantly had money, that much was clear. Laxus wasn't sure of the car's model, but it was an immaculate white Range Rover, the registration showing it was almost brand new.

Freed noticed the impressed expression but didn't comment on it, climbing into the driver's seat after motioning for Laxus to join him. The blonde, once in the passenger's seat, whispered a gentle 'shit' at the interior. Not only did Freed have a nice car, he had flushed it out with pretty much luxury thing a car could have. And the brown and black leather was just as immaculate as the outside. Yeah, Freed definitely was a rich guy.

"You know, for a guy who claimed to not like driving, you've got a pretty great car." Laxus chuckled, putting on his seatbelt and relaxing into the comfortable seats. They probably heated up if needed. "Is this what I'm gonna be driving?"

"Yes, it will." Freed had the tiniest of smirks as he turned the engine on. Laxus had practically just admitted his interest in the job. "Do you like it?"

"It's really good." Laxus chuckled at his own understatement. "You really gonna trust a guy you barely know with a car like this. I could be crap at driving and crash it."

"Don't worry, I've got very good insurance." Freed smirked again. "I demanded that I be given the best deal available and threatened to win the money out of the shareholders to make them bankrupt if I wasn't."

Laxus chuckled a little, not entirely sure if Freed was joking or not. From what he had seen of the gambler, it seemed entirely possible that he would do something like this; but Laxus was going to use his ignorance of the other man to conclude it was a joke. Freed was chuckling at his reaction, so Laxus felt fairly confident that he was right.

Leaning on the armrest to his left, Laxus watched as Freed drove around the city. He noticed that the expensive car was getting looked and stared at from passers-by, most likely because this area wasn't the most affluent and the cars cost wasn't even slightly subtle. Even if he knew it was stupid, he felt weirdly self-conscious about all the glances he was getting. He felt like he was on display, which was made even stupider when Laxus remembered that even the windscreen had a black tinge to it, so he couldn't actually be seen. He'd have to get over that feeling if he was going to drive this on a regular basis.

Damn, it was strange to think he might have full reign on a car like this. It had been quite some time since Laxus had been excited about driving like that. He hadn't had a car for quite some time and his only time driving in the last few years had been in a garbage truck and around a city too small to accommodate such a vehicle. Being behind the wheel of a car, _this car_ , would be much more fun.

Would he be able to convince Freed to let him take it out of the city? The blonde found himself craving to hear the engine roar.

Freed glanced at Laxus with the same smirk that had been sneaking onto his face throughout the day. Even with the split-second glances Freed allowed himself to look from the road, it was obvious Laxus had truly decided to take the job. He just needed to actually realise it.

Turning left past the convenience store, Laxus seemed to realise they were close to his apartment building and began to instruct Freed on how to reach it. As they trailed around the twisting city roads that could barely accommodate the large car, Freed found himself glad he lived on a more convenient road. He didn't think he would be able to deal with this kind maze every day, it seemed very annoying.

Eventually, Laxus pointed out his apartment building. It was pleasant enough, but the faint remnants of graffiti that had been covered by some slightly mismatched paint could be seen. As Freed stopped the car in front of the doors, both men could see a small man standing outside and pressing the buzzer for a door. Laxus groaned when he saw the fur lined coat and the height of the man wearing it.

"Shit." He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"A problem?" Freed asked as he switched off the cars engine and pushed the button to unlock the doors.

"No, not really. My grandad." The blonde sighed. "Guess he must have been calling me. Turned my phone off so we wouldn't be distracted, suppose he got sick of being ignored and came to visit."

Freed nodded, remembering what Laxus had said about his grandfather offering him money when they were at the bar. The two sat in silence for a little while, another groan leaving Laxus' lips when his grandfather turned and looked at the car with a frown. He doubted the tinted windows would stop his grandfather from noticing him sitting there. The old man could find a needle in a haystack a mile long if he was annoyed enough.

"I can drive off, if you really want to avoid him." Freed offered, his voice hiding the fact he thought that was a stupid idea.

"Nah, no point. He wouldn't leave, he'd be more likely to kick the damn door down than admit defeat." Laxus ran a hand through his hair as he bitterly chuckled. "Anyway, I'll need to talk to him eventually. Guess now's as good a time as any."

"And you're sure it's not because he's walking over to us?" Freed taunted.

"Shut up." Laxus grinned. "Wish me luck."

After hearing another short laugh from the gambler, Laxus opened the door and climbed out of the car. He didn't shut the door, his grandfather walking over to him with an expression that was less than amused before he had the chance. Laxus leant on the open door, watching as the smaller man finally got close enough to him that he felt it right to speak.

"What the hell is your problem?" Makarov began, his annoyed tone reflecting his face. "Your life goes to shit, and this is what you do? Turn your phone off, hire a car you can't afford and drive around town to make yourself feel better with some random friend? It's no better than a damn tantrum, just more expensive."

"It's, erm, it's not a rental." Laxus wasn't sure why that was the part of the accusation he was challenging. "It's Freed's. He owns it."

"Freed?"

Laxus stood to the side so his grandfather could see inside the car. Freed sent the smaller man a polite smile, Makarov returning it hesitantly before turning back to Laxus. It seemed that the assurance Laxus hadn't been wasting money on renting cars hadn't done much to calm the older man.

"That's beside the point." He continued. "You're clearly running away from your problems. Spending time with your friends while you should be looking for a new job. I thought I raised you better than to mope around after a problem. You take action to remedy it."

"Freed's not really my friend." Again, Laxus knew he should focus on discrediting the other parts of his grandfather's statements.

"Well if he's not your friend then who is he?" Makarov had his arms crossed, thankfully playing along with Laxus' stupid need to focus on irrelevant things. "And why were you in his car if not?"

"He's, erm. He's…"

His mind racing to think of an actual answer to his grandfathers demands, Laxus let his shoulders relax again. He knew he was going to take the job. He'd practically made his mind up the moment he left his apartment that morning, the entirety of the day was spent trying to convince himself it was a stupid idea and that he shouldn't do it. But it clearly hadn't worked, because he was actually more enthusiastic about taking the job than before.

He glanced back to Freed, then to his grandfather. The choice was made, no going back. He was taking a risk with his life, something that he hadn't done for quite some time. He grinned.

"He's gonna be my boss."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter and it was worth the wait. If anyone is interested, the car is a white Range Rover Autobiography 2018. And I'm sorry if Makarov seems a little OOC, I don't write him often so I haven't gotten him down completely. I'll get better.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Dreyars

**Hi. I'm back. So when I said I'd try to write a chapter every two weeks... that didn't happen. I really will try and write more regularly, but I still don't know how to write Makarov and he's pretty important for this chapter.**

 **Also, I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but thanks so much to everyone who commented/reviewed and followed this fic. It's so nice, so thank you so much! I'll also try and start to reply to comments, sorry that I haven't done that already.**

 **Happy reading ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Four – The Dreyars**

Standing at his kitchen counter, Laxus began to drizzle store bought salad dressing over a plate of pre-cooked chicken, damp lettuce leaves and overly stale croutons. His stomach all but rumbled as he looked down at the practically completed meal, the pizza he had eaten earlier obviously hadn't done much to satisfy him and he found himself starving. The salad looked even more appealing now that his headache had returned, the adrenaline rush now gone from the impromptu meeting and job acceptance that had occurred with Freed moments ago.

When Laxus had referred to Freed as his boss - out of panic and indignance at Makarov's ambush - the other man had taken it in his stride. It was like he expected Laxus to cave in and take it. Makarov had apologised for being rude, Laxus having to bite his tongue on the comment of that being his natural state of being, and Freed excused himself and drove away. And that was it. Freed was his boss, apparently.

Once Freed had left for the gym, Laxus had turned back to his grandfather and invited him into his apartment. Laxus had immediately walked to the kitchen, pulling out whatever food he needed for his salad, and Makarov made his way to the sofa that looked towards the television. Laxus vaguely heard a news report in the background but didn't pay attention to it, his mind was solely focused on the food.

When his salad was complete, he picked the plate up and sat down in an armchair that was only just big enough to fit him without it looking completely ridiculous; he couldn't afford anything bigger. As he picked up some of his food, he looked to his grandfather.

"You sure you don't want anything?" He asked after swallowing his food.

"I ate before I came." Makarov said, looking away from the political update on the TV. "And if that's all you're making, I'm glad I did. When you were younger, that wouldn't have been a snack to you."

Laxus shrugged, biting into another forkful of chicken and lettuce. "You gotta look after yourself, y'know."

Makarov nodded, with a slight hesitation that irritated Laxus more than he was willing to admit, and looked back to the TV. The blonde continued to eat, joining his grandfather in watching a heated political debate about something that probably wasn't that important and was only being shown because it was a slow news day and they needed to fill the time.

As Laxus ate, he noticed Makarov glance at him every few moments, also giving the salad the same side-eye. Laxus put up with this for a short while, but when Makarov's glances began to drag out longer and longer, his irritation got the better of him. He placed his fork onto the plate with more force than needed and looked at his grandfather.

"What?"

"I was just thinking that, maybe if you're not eating that out of choice, I could loan you some money to-" Laxus cut him off with a groan and annoyed expression, but Makarov continued. "I saw that you hardly have anything in your cupboards, and with the pizza box and take-out trays I thought you might not be able to pay for any real food." Makarov explained, Laxus still glaring at him, prompting the older man to mutter under his breath. "Well excuse me for caring."

"I ain't a kid, gramps. I hardly have anything in because I buy all my groceries once a week and I do it tomorrow. I've got frozen vegetables and potatoes for dinner, and I was gonna buy a cooked chicken because I usually don't have time to cook one." Laxus said, shoving some more food into his mouth. "And have you had taken out lately? It ain't cheaper than cooking."

Makarov raised his hands in mock surrender, not wanting to reignite the argument that the two had engaged in multiple times. Instead, they both turned back to the TV and watched the news; it had moved onto the next topic.

During the lull in the conversation, Laxus' thoughts wandered back to Freed. Did his immediate decision to call Freed his boss mean that he was going to be Freed's driver now? Surely, he would have realised that Laxus had said this out of panic and it wasn't a serious acceptance of Freed's job offer. But Freed had seemed fairly enthusiastic about employing Laxus so maybe he would use the proclamation to force him take the job. Was that something Freed would do? Laxus barely knew him, so how could he know if Freed was that kind of person?

He decided not to worry about it, focusing on the TV and deciding to text Freed when his grandfather had left, so he could clear things up. The news was still focused on the menial problem from before, something about a pothole 'epidemic.' Laxus had to wonder if this really was the most interesting they could talk about.

Makarov was apparently just as uninterested in the filler piece on the TV, so shifted his position on the sofa and looked to Laxus. The blonde, fully expecting to be engaged in a conversation that would lead into an argument, placed his half-eaten salad on his knee and looked to his grandfather.

"You didn't say what you'd be doing?" Makarov said, not bothered by the sour expression on his grandson's face. "Earlier, you said that man was your boss, but didn't say what he was going to make you do. What are you going to be doing?"

That wasn't too bad, actually. Maybe he needed to give Makarov more credit…

"Gonna be his driver." Laxus picked up the fork again, noticing Makarov's frown. He sighed. "He does something that means he had to travel around the city a lot. Said he doesn't enjoy driving so needs someone to do it for him, so that's what I'm gonna do. And I get why he doesn't enjoy driving, half the people in the city seem to wanna get in an accident. Anyway, yeah, so I'm gonna be his chauffeur or whatever."

"A step up from hauling trash." Makarov nodded, a small smile on his face. "Your wage better reflect that, I'm not having you get less money when you can barely make ends meet now. What does he even do, if he can pay your wages?"

"He's a, erm, professional gambler." Laxus mumbled quickly, trying to brush the question off. "And I don't struggle with money. I don't know why you think I do."

He wasn't avoiding the subject of Freed's job because Makarov was against gambling. In fact, Laxus was almost certain that his grandfather had monthly high-stakes poker games with some of his friends, so being against gambling would be hypocritical. He just expected Makarov to have the same kind of apprehension that he'd had, and Laxus honestly didn't want to deal with it now. He just wanted to finish his salad in peace.

But of course, that wouldn't happen. Usually, Makarov would have retorted to the claims that Laxus didn't struggle with money – either by saying he was naïve if he actually thought that, or that he didn't mean any offense by saying it – but he was annoyingly quiet. Laxus readied himself for whatever he grandfather would eventually decide he wanted to say.

"A professional gambler…" Makarov repeated with hesitation. "That's not the most secure source of income. Are you sure that's the best idea?"

Laxus, on a regular day, might have seen this as his grandfather second guessing his decisions. This would have lead Laxus to reply with a hostile statement that would eventually form an argument between the two men's egos. But the hangover and headache Laxus was experiencing meant he really didn't have the energy to yell at his grandfather, so he tried not to react.

"He seems to be doing pretty well. And promised me job security, told me a load of stuff about why I didn't need to worry about it. He's got savings or something that I'll get my wages from. Hold on a second." Laxus stood up, placing his near empty plate on the coffee table.

He walked to the kitchen, picking up the folder that contained the contract Freed had given him to look at. As he picked it up, he began to wonder if showing this to Makarov was him accepting that he was going to take the job. As far as he was concerned, Freed must have realised that he'd accepted the placement on impulse and might not want to continue, so it wasn't completely settled on. But giving this to Makarov meant that he couldn't back out on the job. Not without either a patronising response, or a smug response; Laxus didn't know which he would prefer and decided he would try to avoid receiving either.

Again, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He was probably thinking about things too deeply. And even if he wasn't, he could just quit if he realised it wasn't what he wanted to do. Just because he'd never done it, that didn't mean it was abnormal.

After handing Makarov the contract, he picked up his plate of salad and began to eat; he sadly noted that he'd eaten the majority of the chicken now. He glanced at Makarov as he flicked through the pages of small text, who seemed to be slightly appeased by the formality of the job offer. Laxus decided he probably wouldn't mention they met in a bar and Laxus was offered the job while they were drunk.

"That good enough, or should I make him swear a blood oath?" Laxus muttered, only slightly hostile.

"Well, he does seem to be taking this seriously." Makarov nodded slightly, looking up from the contract and placing it beside him on the sofa. "He's made it pretty obvious that, if he doesn't pay you what he's promised, he's in breach of the contract, so there's no obvious loopholes. I guess he knew you might be concerned. I still think you should have a lawyer look over it, in case he hid some sort of way out in it that I didn't see."

"Do you really think that's needed?" Laxus sighed. "You just said it looks airtight. I'm sure he's not that kind of guy."

"I'm just trying to look out for you. There's a lot of con artists in this city and with him being a gambler, its not too large a jump in logic to think-"

"Yeah, I know. And I appreciate it." His voice almost sounded defeated. "I guess it's just that, I don't know, I wanna do something that isn't just laid out for me and easy. Just wanna do something with the smallest amount of risk to it."

It was more than that. He felt as though he was stuck in a rut and this was the way out. For years, he'd woken up at the same time, driven down the same roads on the same days, had basically the same conversation with the same boring people. He couldn't do something like that again and that was all most jobs could offer. But driving for Freed sounded different; Freed had made it seem like every day they'd be driving somewhere new; every day would be different. And Laxus had been craving something like that for a lot longer than he realised.

"And I know normal people want that kind of stability. But, well you raised me, I never wanted to conform." They shared a short laugh, lightening the small amount of tension that had formed. "So, if I get it checked out, you won't disown me? I'll still be in the will?"

"I suppose. You're only getting the grandfather clock though, didn't think you'd be too bothered about losing it." Makarov laughed at the sour expression on his grandson's face. "I'm joking. I'm always trying to give you money, you don't think I'd stop just because I snuffed it did you? And anyway, that clocks a family heirloom, you should be proud you get to own it."

"Heirloom huh? Funny, 'cause I remember being there when you brought it." Laxus crossed his arms. "I also remember being embarrassed because you were haggling to get it cheap."

"It was expensive." Makarov said defensively. "You never know if you can get a better deal if you don't try."

"We were at IKEA! I think the day a company like IKEA gives price cuts just because an old man asked the guy at the counter is the same day Steve Jobs comes back to life, gives up technology and runs a fruit store at some random market." Laxus exclaimed, though wore a good-natured smile. "But you think it's okay, the job I mean? It gets the Dreyar stamp of approval."

"Not that I think my opinion will change your mind, I do approve." Makarov smiled. "In fact, I think you need something like this. And if you took some stupid office job, I don't think I could take how mopey your ass would become."

Annoyingly glad of Makarov's approval, Laxus looked back to his TV and began to finish off the small remains of his salad. Although, at this point, it was more like lettuce spread thinly across a plate. He shifted back into the chair, watching as some overly enthusiastic man relayed the results of some football games, or whatever sport they were talking about. It made his mind flicker back to Freed, simply because he had mentioned he would be at the gym.

So, he had to just accept it now, he was going to be Freed's driver. He'd been denying it and second guessing whether he wanted to do it basically since he first saw Freed's text that morning. But now he'd told both his grandfather and Freed himself that he'd taken it, he needed to stop thinking like that. He'd taken the risk; whatever repercussions came his way couldn't be changed now.

He grinned a little, that thought sent a buzz through his body. It really had been a long time since he'd done something exciting. He was free of the repetitive lifestyle he had basically fallen into and was going to do something that had some passion for. And he was going to do it in a pretty badass car, too.

Both men fell into a comfortable silence, watching the TV but neither really paying much attention to what was actually said. Laxus had placed his plate on the floor beside his chair and was mindlessly scrolling through his phone while Makarov picked up a newspaper Laxus had brought a few days prior. It was an enjoyable few moments, reminding Laxus of when he and his grandfather lived together. They would often spend time like this, doing completely different things but spending time with one another non the less.

Upon hearing the news-stations signature jingle that accompanied the beginning and end of the sports section, Laxus glanced up towards the TV. Had they really been talking about sports all that time? They really were struggling to fill the time. Even now, the two hosts were talking to each other as if they were on a morning chat show.

 _"And now onto something I'm sure all our German viewers will already know."_ The younger, female host said as she smiled at the camera. It was almost convincing; Laxus had to wonder if she was satisfied reading this filler when she intended to be a journalist.

 _"Indeed."_ The elder gentleman continued, also smiling. _"Today, Germany is going to be celebrating its own version of thanksgiving: Erntedankfest."_ Laxus had to wonder if the show's German audience would appreciate one of their national holidays being directly compared to an American one. _"It's a celebration that's thought to go back over a thousand years and originated as a way to give thanks for the harvest."_

 _"And where better to learn more about this holiday than Hamburg?"_ The woman spoke up again. _"So, we can go over to our German foreign correspondent, Sophia Dr-"_

Laxus had picked up the remote control and switched off the TV, ignoring the glance he got from Makarov as he placed it down with a slight amount of force. He began to look down at his phone again, scrolling through his twitter feed as Makarov opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Laxus tried to ignore the obvious look of worry on his grandfather's face. He continued to scroll down on his phone.

Now without the sound of the TV, the silence between the room felt heavy and harsh. It didn't take long for Makarov to shut the newspaper and place it on the sofa beside the contract. He stood up and looked to Laxus, who placed his phone down and looked back at him expectantly.

"You know where the shitter is if you want it."

"Actually, I think it's about time I head home." Makarov smiled, walking to the coat hangers that were beside the door. Laxus stood up and unhooked both his grandfather's coat and scarf, handing them both to Makarov. "Well then, I hope everything goes well with your job, I'm sure it'll pay off for you. He seemed like an honest young man, so I don't think you've got any reason to worry. So just have fun, I suppose."

He smiled as he shrugged on his coat and wrapped his scarf around his neck. Laxus opened the door and leant on it, looking down at his grandfather as he adjusted his coat in the mirror. Why the old man was so conscious of his looks, Laxus didn't know. It wasn't like he had anyone to impress. At least, Laxus certainly hoped not. Thinking that your parents have sex was bad enough, let alone your grandparents.

"Well, I'll see you soon. As long as I don't die first." Makarov cackled, spouting off the joke Laxus had gotten used to. "Seriously though, if you ever need anything from me, you just need to-"

"I know, I know." Laxus said, lacking the hostility that would normally sneak into his voice when Makarov offered him money. "Now go home. I could have someone coming over, don't want you ruining my image."

"Hah! I doubt I'll live to see the day when you have any kind of guest in this place." Makarov grinned, walking through the door and turning to Laxus. "See ya, brat."

"Later, old man." Laxus grinned. "Don't break a hip on the way down."

Laxus closed the door to his apartment, clicking his tongue as he looked around. It suddenly felt incredibly quiet. He picked up the plate from the floor and placed it in the sink, filling it with lukewarm water and dish soap. He also turned on the small, slightly tinny radio that he kept by his sink. He tapped his fingers against the kitchen countertop along to whatever song was playing as the sink slowly filled with soapy water.

The tapping soon got boring, so he walked around the room and picked up any stray piece of cutlery and crockery that he had left out for whatever reason and placed them in the sink. He then picked up his phone and continued to scroll down his twitter feed. There was nothing really interesting on it, as normal, but it was at least something to do while he waited.

As he reached to the faucet and turned it off before the sink became too filled up with water, his phone buzzed and lit up with a text. He glanced down at it as he plunged a hand into the water, seeing Freed's name appear at the top beside a text. He opened it before both his hands were wet.

 ** _From: Freed (Job)_**

 _Sorry to disturb you, I'm sure you're still speaking with your grandfather,_

 _but I just wanted to make sure you know I won't take your acceptance of_

 _the job to be a definite decision. So, don't worry._

 _Also, if you're still undecided about whether you should take the job, may_

 _I suggest that, sometime in the week, you can try driving my car. Perhaps_

 _it'll sway your decision slightly. I'm free all week, so if you wish to try it out_

 _you can pick any time you want._

 _I might take a little time to reply, as I'm still part way through my workout_

 _but please reply as soon as you're ready._

 _Thanks, Freed J._

Laxus grinned slightly at the invitation, finishing washing the plate he had picked up and placing it on the draining board beside the sink. He flicked the water off his hands and dried them on a nearby towel, picking up his phone and sending a quick reply.

 ** _To: Freed (Job)_**

 _Hey. That sounds great. Tell me if I need to do anything to get insured on_

 _it or whatever. and I dont have anything planned either so I guess we can_

 _talk about what say is best for us both. And don't worry about texting back_

 _now. If anyone knows how annoying it is to be interrupted when doing a_

 _workout its me. See you in a couple days I guess_

The blonde placed his phone back down and continued to wash the dishes, silently wondering why he had added the last part of the text. He could have easily said Freed didn't need to worry about replying immediately and ended the text there, but he added a personal aspect to it. Maybe Makarov's teasing about him never having anyone around had affected him somewhat.

But that didn't matter. Sometime in the week, Laxus was going to take Freed's car out. The two of them driving through the city for the first time. The first time of many. And it sent an excited, inexplicable chill down his spine as a smile snuck onto his face.


	5. Chapter 5 - The First of Many

**Hi. I'm back. And I actually managed to write a chapter in the two weeks like I wanted. And the fifth chapter as well, which is where I've trailed off from a few times. So that's cause for celebration. Get ready for some Laxus and Freed bonding, which is as awkward as you can expect.**

 **As always, thanks for the comments and reviews if you left one. They mean a lot. Hope you enjoy, thank you for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Five - The First of Many**

Standing outside of his apartment building, Laxus felt somewhat stupid. After exchanging a few texts throughout the week in relation to when he should try driving Freed's car for the first time, they'd settled on a Wednesday at half past two in the afternoon. It was that very Wednesday and, at twenty-five minutes past two, Laxus found himself leaning on a wall in the bitter cold, wondering why he hadn't chosen to wait inside his heated, reasonably comfortable apartment.

Of course, he knew the reason. He wanted to make a positive impression. He didn't know whether or not Freed had been annoyed at his less than perfect punctuality in their café meeting – he seemed like an organised guy, so it was possible – and Laxus wanted to make sure he portrayed himself as dependable to his new boss.

Even if Freed technically wasn't his boss yet.

But his overcompensation at being punctual made him feel ridiculous. Every time he heard an engine get close, he looked up in hopes that it was Freed. He was acting like some kind of love struck teenager who pounced on their phone because their crush said they 'might' text; it was ridiculous, and he needed to stop.

In all honesty though, he wasn't all that shocked he was acting the way he was. Ever since he'd decided that, yes, he would become Freed's chauffeur, he'd been progressively more and more excited to start. Perhaps in another situation, he would have tried to fight down the excitement and passed it off as childish, but he felt he was owed this feeling. Almost everything about his new job was a contrast to what his life had been for years; he found himself filled with a fantastic nervousness that he had been deprived of for all that time.

Again, he looked up from his phone at the sound of a car engine. He grinned a little when he saw Freed's large, white car drive down the road, looking entirely out of place compared to the old, second hand motors covered in dirt and grime. Laxus pushed off the wall and walked to the road where Freed had pulled up.

"Laxus, it's nice to see you." He greeted as he climbed out of the car and walked towards Laxus. "I haven't been keeping you long, have I? The traffic was a little worse than I was expecting."

"No, I've only been out here for a few minutes." Laxus sent a small reassuring smile, glancing to his watch to see Freed wasn't late, but a minute early. Definitely a guy who appreciated punctuality. "You can come up for a coffee if you want, or we can…" He motioned towards the car.

"Well if you're ready, I think we should go." Freed proffered the keys to Laxus, who took them. As Laxus walked around the car to get into the driver's seat, Freed spoke again. "Just so you know, you don't have to put the keys into the ignition. There's a switch that activates the engine that only works if the keys are in the vicinity. I'm sure you would have worked it out, but it takes a little getting used to at the start."

Laxus nodded, having noticed that the key obviously wouldn't fit into any lock or ignition. He opened the door to his side of the car a moment after Freed, climbing in and grinning slightly. It was as impressive as he remembered.

He ran his hands gently across the perfectly upholstered steering wheel, the cool leather a stark contrast with the slightly pealing rubber that he was used to driving with. Although the seat was unadjusted to Laxus' height, he sat more comfortably in the car than he ever had in the garbage truck. Looking around at the impeccable white leather that covered the seats, he could see the luxury stitching in the design. Where the gear shift would be, a circular dial that could be pointed to all states of driving an automatic car could be in stood among a wood-effect mid-section. It also seemed that the tablet-like information centre was flushed out with all the luxuries one could afford.

Oh yeah, this was a _real_ vehicle.

As Laxus near lusted over the luxurious car, Freed had the tiniest of smirks on his face. Perhaps it was out of pride for the car Laxus obviously approved of, perhaps it was because he thought Laxus was still unsure if he wanted to take the job and this would sway him over. Either way, when Laxus noticed the smirk, he looked directly forward and tried to force off the small smudge of redness on his cheeks.

"So," He spoke, trying to ignore the feeling of embarrassment. "You have anywhere you want me to take you?"

"I think I know where we could go. If you make your way to Main Street, I can give you directions from there." Freed said, looking forward.

Laxus nodded, adjusted his seat into a more comfortable position using the switches to his left, and pushed the switch that activates the engine. After putting the gear dial into drive, he slowly pushed his foot against the inbuilt wedge where the clutch would be out of instinct. He then pushed down on the accelerator, feeling a power behind the car despite the slow speed he was forced to drive at in the cramped streets he lived in.

Once he was on a slightly calmer road, he could hear the small rumble of a purr from the engine as it shifted gears. He was grinning the same grin he had when he'd first climbed into the car; there was really no comparison in driving this and driving the truck. But he would continue to compare them, because fuck this felt so good.

Freed had fought back the smirk from before, knowing it had agitated Laxus somewhat, but the feeling was still there. Laxus' face was expressive – more expressive than the blonde expected, most likely – and it was obvious to see that he was enjoying driving the car. Freed had never been able to understand people who were overly particular about their cars from anything but a comfort standpoint, but it was obvious Laxus was one of those people. And it made him happy that he approved of Freed's vehicle of choice.

He couldn't help but hope Laxus would drive in it regularly.

"So, the car meets your approval, then?" Freed asked after a few minutes of silence; Laxus snapping out of his admiration with the smallest signifier of his embarrassment on his face.

"Definitely." He chuckled as he turned a corner. "It's new, right? The model came out last year, so it's obviously pretty new. You erm, you didn't seem like the type to be obsessed with having the newest car and crap. Not that its bad if you are, just that you struck me of a different kinda guy." He sighed in annoyance at himself. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude."

"You weren't, its fine." Freed nearly chuckled at Laxus' overcompensation at the idea that he was being rude. "And I'm not, really. This is the first car I brought new, as it happens. My previous car was second hand and was made nearly eighteen years ago; after one too many break downs, I decided it was time to replace it. It made more sense to get something new that would last and offer everything that I need in a car rather than to buy something that would only run for a few years before needing to be replaced itself."

Laxus nodded, relishing in the feeling of leather sliding under his hands as he steered the car around a fairly tight bend in the road. He was glad that he had the opportunity to drive this car instead of Freed's older one that was, by the sound of his description, a piece of crap. But, honestly, he would rather drive a piece of crap car than the piece of crap truck; at least a car could actually make it through the streets without nearly scraping up against half the buildings it passed.

His mind drifted away from the subject of his previous job. There was no sense in complaining about it now, he no longer worked there, and he had found a replacement. And, so far, it was infinitely better than where he worked before.

Although, he wasn't completely certain on what exactly he would be doing when he accepted Freed's offer. Of course, he knew Freed would tell him where to drive and that's what he would be doing, but he hadn't been told about the finer details of the job. Did he have to look after the car, buy it gas and get it washed? If that was part of the job, would he have to pay for it himself or would Freed pay?

Despite not wanting to look like an idiot, Laxus knew that he would have to ask these questions eventually. So, after the sound of the car's purring turned into a fairly awkward silence that Laxus wasn't enjoying, he decided to stop wasting time.

"Sorry, this is gonna make me sound like an idiot, but what exactly do you want me to do?" His voice was a modicum quieter than normal. "Like, I know you call me up and say where I drive, but am I responsible for the car? Do I have to stay in it while you finish whatever you're doing? All that kinda shit."

"Oh, of course." Freed nodded slightly. "They'll be a certain responsibility you have over the car. When its not in use, it'll be kept in my garage, so you needn't worry about that. I'd like to have it washed once a week, perhaps you can organise that if I reimburse you for the costs; and if the car ever has any mechanical troubles, I expect you're more knowledgeable about this and can take it to a mechanic. As for gas, I assume that you'll fill it up whenever needed and, again, I'll give you back the money you spent on it."

Laxus nodded. So, essentially, he'd be in charge of making sure the car could run and looked good, and Freed would pay him whatever was needed. That was fine, Laxus was enough of a car lover to enjoy the idea of having a vehicle to look after.

"As for what you'll be doing when I work, I hardly think its fair to expect you remain in the car. I can take quite some time, depending on the situation." Freed continued, motioning for Laxus to turn left at a junction. "As I've said, most of my clients are in the city. Most often I'll be able to estimate how long I'll be, so if I tell you that then you can busy yourself in the area if that's okay."

Laxus replied in the affirmative. Even if he was sitting in a nearby coffee shop or shopping mall for however long Freed was working, it would be better than just sitting in the car; even if it was luxurious as hell. At least in a coffee shop, he could stretch his legs and get something to drink. He didn't think he would risk brining coffee into the car, not with the white, very stainable leather that covered almost all surfaces.

Too busy in his own mind, Laxus didn't notice the small smirk on Freed's face. The questions coming from the blonde suggested that he was, at the very least, seriously considering the job. And for Freed, that was enough cause for some minor celebrations.

"If you'd like, there's no reason you can't accompany to some of the games? Only if you're interested of course." Freed looked towards Laxus. "If anyone asks why you're there, it won't be hard to convince them you're my bodyguard."

Forehead crumpled, Laxus wondered why Freed would need to lie about that. Perhaps some of the people Freed gambled with were private; rich people were often touchy about strangers. And a bodyguard made sense, Laxus did have a fairly imposing figure, so it was a lie that he could make believable. Although, would Freed really need a bodyguard, even a fake one?

"Might take you up on that." Laxus smiled a little. "You'll have to remind me of the rules before, though. Not much of a gambler, really."

"I assumed as much." Freed had the feintest of smiles. Laxus frowned.

"Why's that?"

"To put it bluntly, you wouldn't be very good." Freed said, voice conveying his lack of tact when speaking. "From what I know about you, you're obviously a private person. And yet your face is incredibly expressive, you've got an inordinate amount of tells that any gambler worth the name would exploit. If you were a gambler, a private person like you would constantly wear your porker face to avoid people finding things out about you." Freed concluded, face stoic. "And if this _is_ meant to be your poker face, I'm afraid to say its laughable."

Despite his best efforts not to be, Laxus found himself somewhat insulted. As he had stated, he had little interest in gambling and therefore had no real need for a poker face that could fool a gambler, but he felt defensive. Nobody liked being insulted about something; certainly not by someone who was the expert in the field pertaining to the aforementioned something.

But Laxus knew not to take it too personally. Obviously, Freed wasn't one to mince his words and this was an example of that. So, he didn't react, other than slightly tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"So, I'm basically an open book to you then?" He chuckled, though it slightly forced. "Well, impress me. What do you know about me?"

"Okay." Freed said, turning to Laxus and hiding his minor shock at the request. Most people hated hearing what other people thought about them, and Laxus would know Freed wouldn't lie by now. "Well, as I said, you're a private man. Quite proud too, perhaps arrogant when the mood strikes you. Despite what your physical stature might suggest, you're not the kind of hypermasculine moron who would throw a tantrum if their son picked up a purple crayon instead of blue."

Laxus felt slightly placated by that. It was true, often people saw his size and immediately assumed he was some kind of a jackass. It was good to know Freed didn't see him as that kind of guy, even if he had called him occasionally arrogant.

"I also think you're quieter than one might expect." Freed continued. "Much more of an observer than people would give you credit for. Which makes me wonder what you've observed about me."

"You wanna know what I think about you?"

"If you don't mind." Freed encouraged. "And we'll be continuing straight ahead at the next set of traffic lights, I should add."

Laxus nodded, pulling to a stop in the row of cars before the red light. Seeing it was a filtered junction, Laxus took the time to get a good look at Freed for the first time that day. It took him a few moments of contemplation before he spoke again.

"You're also private, maybe even more than me." He eventually said. "You're a practical guy, probably don't spend much of your money compared to the people who have the same amount as you. You've got pretty strong ideals and I think you'd probably stick to them, so I guess you're a man of principles. Or stubborn. You're also, I think, kinda cautious. Well, more like you plan things out really, which is why it kinda doesn't make sense to me that you're a gambler. And why you're willing to give a job like this to a stranger you met in a bar. Unless I'm completely misreading you."

"No, for someone you don't know I think that's a fair assessment." Freed said as Laxus began to drive again. "And, if you're curious, I never intended to be a gambler, but it has done me well and I don't intend to change my career. And as for why I want you as my driver, from what I know about you already, it's a job that you are owed."

At the cryptic response, Laxus sighed slightly. Freed was a private person, the kind of guy who would only reveal things at his own speed if Laxus had guessed right, so there was no point in pressing for more. Even still, the wording bothered him. Who talked like that?

The conversation having reached a natural conclusion, Laxus decided to focus on the road as he followed Freed's instructions. The traffic was slowly thinning out and the turns became less regular, allowing Laxus to speed the car up a little and feel the slight vibrations on his hands. It really had been too long since he'd felt any form of exhilaration while he drove. And if he was right in assuming they were heading out of the city, he'd be able to really test what his car could do on the open road. He couldn't help the smirk on his face.

Freed himself was glad for the silence instead of being faced with further questions. He had known that his response was probably less than Laxus had wanted, but the two of them were still essentially strangers and Freed wasn't yet in a position to explain parts of his life that he saw as personal. And his reason for hiring Laxus was related to that, so he would keep that close to his chest too.

Throughout the next twenty or so minutes, the car was silent other than the sound of Freed occasionally giving directions to wherever he wanted to take them. Laxus noticed that they were getting further and further from the city centre, leading Laxus to believe that he was right in his assumption Freed wanted to show the car off in a road that wasn't filled with dense traffic and aggressive taxi drivers.

But the small amount of smugness he felt at being right was soon diminished, the silence between them both starting to feel claustrophobic for the blonde. He never really liked silence, he was born into a loud family in the middle of a loud city; it was why he always had his TV switched on or was listening to music. But this was worse than an empty apartment to the blonde, because he could have been talking to Freed.

The feeling of annoyance at the silence practically doubled when he caught Freed scrolling through his phone from the corner of his eye. His annoyance was unjust, it wasn't as if he was contributing to the conversation, but it still felt rude.

"I thought you might appreciate some music. You don't mind, do you?" Freed said, seeing Laxus glance at him. "It's connected to my phone. You can do the same if you take the job, I expect you'll have more use of the system than I will."

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." Laxus nodded. "And the music would be nice."

"Do you have a preference to what type of music we listen to?" Freed asked as he opened the music app on his phone. "I've got a fairly wide variety, so it's likely I'll have whatever genre you want."

"I'm not really bothered, whatever you want."

Freed nodded and turned on whatever track he wanted. It wasn't anything that Laxus recognised – though he doubted Freed would enjoy the popular songs that dominated pretty much every radio station Laxus could listen to in his apartment – but it was pleasant enough to listen to. Some kind of orchestral, techno mixture that worked despite logic saying otherwise. It also didn't have any lyrics, which Laxus was fine with as the tune was pretty relaxing.

With the added element of the music, the drive became significantly more relaxed. When Laxus looked right at a junction, he could see Freed's fingers move ever so slightly to the beat; Freed apparently wasn't as unreadable as he thought. But still, it was good to know they at least had a similar taste in music.

"Never heard this before." Laxus said when the track ended, going to a similar sounding but different piece of music. "How'd you find out about it?"

"I know the composer."

"You gamble with him?" Laxus questioned as he accelerated.

"No, I used to live with him." Freed smiled a little. "He's an online composer. Originally, I brought his music just to be supportive, but it's actually better than I had anticipated. We're going straight until we leave the city."

Laxus nodded, making note that he should ask Freed the name of the composer, so he could hear more of his music. With that in mind, he continued to go straight on the road and ignored all turnings. He glanced up at the large signs to get an idea to where they would be going, seeing that they were heading towards the highway if they continued to go forward. He glanced towards Freed.

"The highway, you sure?" Laxus questioned. "Where exactly d'you wanna go?"

"There's a truck stop diner I frequent from time to time. Given what time it is, I thought I could treat you to a late lunch." Freed looked towards Laxus again. "And besides, how are you going to get a feel for the car when you can only drive two meters before stopping."

Smirk back on his face, Laxus nodded. He couldn't argue with the mans logic, a highway was pretty much the best place to see how a car drives. As the large expanse of road, that was thankfully nearly empty, got closer and closer, Laxus grinned. He wrapped his hands tightly around the wheel and slowly pressed down on the accelerator. The roar of the engine widened Laxus' smirk as the car automatically made its way up the gears and sped up.

 _Oh yeah. He could get used to driving this._

* * *

"One bacon cheese burger with fries." A server smiled as she placed food on the table. "And one BLT with curly fries. I'll be out with your drinks in a moment."

As the server left their table, Laxus looked around. After driving down the highway for a half hour, they left by an exit road and drove to the diner that Freed had mentioned. But it wasn't just any diner, it was quite possibly the most cliché, stereotypical diner that existed. Laxus was sure it was designed completely to look like it had been made as a set piece for a teenage movie in the seventies. Laxus had to wonder how Freed had found this place but didn't question it.

In fact, his mind was too busy focused on the car. He'd only been able to drive it on the highway for ten minutes before they reached traffic worse than the city, but those ten minutes were most than enough for him to be certain that he was taking the job. He couldn't give up the opportunity to drive it again, he just couldn't.

But that wasn't the only thing that cemented his choice. After the awkwardness had been covered by the music, Laxus began to enjoy his time driving with Freed. They could hold a conversation fine, but neither felt the need to force it. And when Freed had run out of music from his ex-roommate, the next track he listened to was just as good. So his biggest worry, that the time in the car with Freed would be painfully awkward, was gone and he had no reason not to take the job.

And the free burger was good, too. But it was mainly Freed and the car that solidified his choice.

"Thanks for this." Laxus said as he picked up the bottle of ketchup and squirted it onto the paper wrapping the food came in. "You sure you're okay paying for it."

"Of course." Freed smiled slightly as he poured his curly fries into the basket with his sandwich. "I did say I would treat you to this. Please, eat."

After Freed motioned to his food, Laxus picked up the large burger and bit into it. Any question as to why Freed liked the diner melted away immediately as he chewed the burger that was, quite frankly, flawless. He even saw the amusement in Freed's eyes – apparently, Laxus was quite obvious with his enjoyment of the perfect food – but he didn't care, it was honestly so worth it. He would definitely be coming back here if he had the chance.

Soon Freed was eating too, perhaps enjoying it as much as Laxus was. The blonde really couldn't tell. The silence between the two confirmed to Laxus that they would be able to spend a long amount of time together; in silence, Laxus often started to pick at any flaw he could see in the other person out of annoyance at the quiet. He wasn't doing that with Freed, so he could conclude that they were well suited to each other in some way.

"So," Freed said, placing his half-eaten BLT back on the plate. "I don't believe there's any sense in avoiding this anymore."

Laxus watched as Freed reached into a small bag that he'd taken from the back seat of the car and pulled out a plastic folder. He saw that it was the same contract that he had been given after their original meeting in the café. Laxus sat up in his chair, pushing his half eaten meal forward slightly so he could fully pay attention.

"I'm afraid to say that I'd like a definitive answer today." Freed continued, placing a pen beside the contract. "I believe that there's been enough time for you to contemplate what you think. So, Laxus, are you willing to become my personal driver?"

There was no conflict in Laxus' mind at the question. The only slight confusion he had was to why it had taken him so long to be sure about taking the job. It was literally a dream job: he got to drive throughout the city in a car that was amazing, he had a boss who felt comfortable around and had a good taste in music, and he was paid a lot more than he had been before. Everything about the job was infinitely better than anywhere he'd worked previously, and if that wasn't enough to convince him, nothing would be.

Of course, his hesitation came from the face that this was a risk. Laxus hadn't taken a risk in far too long and he had, perhaps, become overly cautious. But he needed a risk, and this was the best risk that had presented itself to him in a long while.

He leant forward and picked up the pen, turning the contract so that it was facing him. As he flipped open the sheet of clear plastic, he didn't miss the tiny smile that had graced Freed's features. He started to sign the contract the relevant places, which had been marked with small red crosses. Had Freed been so confident that he would want the job? Most likely, Freed had claimed that he was easy to read.

"So, guess you're my boss then." Laxus smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

"As am I." Freed nodded. "I'm glad that I managed to find you."

Before returning to their food, they shared a short, subtle smile. As Laxus bit into his burger, he knew that the risk he had taken was the right decision.

* * *

 **Glad you made it through the chapter, it's the longest one for Gambler's Luck. If you're interested, the music Freed played 'Spheres' by Adrian von Ziegler. Thanks for reading. ^.^**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Calm

**Hello. I'm back again, and I managed to write this in two weeks again. Just a warning, this chapter contains a poker game. I've never played it and got all the info on it from the internet, so I apologise if i get anything wrong.**

 **Anyhow. As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Six – The Calm**

Leaning back against the cushioned chair and scrolling down a list of available job positions in the local area, Cana let out a groan. Surrounded by clothing racks filled with an assortment of suits, she had to wonder why she had let Laxus drag her to the mall just so the blonde could buy a new suit for his job. She could have been at home, nursing a beer and making up excuses as to why she hadn't been looking for a new job instead of trawling every store in the building that had a chance of selling a suit that would fit her blonde friend.

Eventually, Cana got sick of looking at the tiny suit selections most male clothes stores had hidden in the far corner and had dragged him to a formalwear place. She then picked out five suits for him, sent him into a changing cubicle and demanded that he pick at least one of them to buy or she would leave him to walk home in the rain. He had agreed to the deal but seemed to be spiting her by taking his sweet ass time.

"Come on. You kinda need the suit _before_ the sun explodes and kills us all." She raised her voice to the closed curtain, slamming her foot against the side of the cubicle. "If the boredom doesn't get me first."

After hearing a grunt in response, she looked back down to her phone and continued to scan the job opportunities. Most of them either required the weirdest qualifications that she didn't have, were too low paying so she wouldn't be able to afford her part of the rent, or involved alcohol in some way and Mira claimed she couldn't be trusted in that kind of job. Which of course she found completely offensive; Cana liked to drink, she didn't lack impulse control.

Granted, when she worked at Mira's bar she occasionally took a free drink or two. But she was dating the boss, she was allowed the perks.

Laxus still not having surfaced, she slammed her foot against the cubicle again and threatened to enter it and dress him herself if he didn't hurry up. She got a snide look from a man working there as she removed her shoes from the white wall. She bit her tongue on the comment that he was working in a suit store, wasn't a tailor and should drop the 'holier than thou' thing he had going on. Pretentious jackass.

"Calm the hell down." Laxus said from inside the cubicle. "There ain't a lot of space in these things."

Pulling the curtain aside, Laxus stepped out in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and brown tie. It was considerably better than anything he'd worn until that point, probably because it was actually his size. It didn't look half bad, but the nearly invisible pattern on the jacket made it look more party outfit that it did work clothes. Still, the pattern was hard to see, and it could easily pass as a work suit, especially in a fancy kinda job that Laxus would soon be doing.

Still, she'd reserve her judgement until she'd seen them all. She didn't want to insult the suit that would end up being the best one, that would lead Laxus to second guess himself and she really didn't want to spend any more time in the damn mall. So, she just let Laxus walk to the nearby mirror and check out the suit for himself.

"Your new boss gonna pay for this?" Cana asked as Laxus straightened the jacket slightly.

"No. He didn't really mention anything about what I have to wear." Laxus said as he turned his body to look at the back of the suit. "But he seems put together, so probably wants me to look a little formal. And I'm getting a pretty good raise, so I thought it made sense to get some new stuff."

Cana hummed in reply, glancing back down to her phone as Laxus finished checking himself out – at least, that's what Cana assumed he was really doing – and walked back into the cubicle to change into the next suit. As the endless slew of waitressing jobs filled Cana's screen again, she placed her phone in her pocket and looked to the closed cubicle again.

"So, what's your new boss like?" She hummed, tapping her fingers against the chair. "You said he's rich, right? He a stuck-up dick?"

"No, not really." Laxus said from behind the curtain, Cana seeing a hand push the curtain slightly as he removed either his blazer or shirt. "He's pretty down to earth, actually. He's got a good taste in music, actually turned me on to this internet composer guy who's pretty good so we have that to talk about at least. Ain't really pretentious I don't think. A bit of a stickler for time maybe, but that ain't too bad. I don't like being late either, so who cares?"

Cana nodded, glad to hear they got along. It was mainly for selfish reasons, in Laxus' previous job she had often had to deal with his complaining whenever Mira wasn't available at the bar, so she was glad that wouldn't be happening again. And, you know, Laxus' overall happiness would improve. But mainly it was her selfish reason that made her happy.

Laxus had taken significantly less time to change this time, apparently the threat withstanding from before. This suit was grey, had a waistcoat covering the blue shirt and looked more professional. It was also a bit more flattering to his figure. Was that a bad thing? Nah, he probably wouldn't care.

The two continued to talk a little about Laxus' new boss, who eventually was revealed to be named Freed and an old friend of Mirajane's. It took a moment of thinking about the man's name for Cana to remember who exactly he was; her memory was jogged considerably when Laxus helpfully mentioned his hair was green. Cana vaguely remembered that the guy was a friend of Mira and her siblings and had kept in touch throughout the years. But Freed was busy with whatever he did, and Mira was busy running a bar, so they hardly ever got to see each other. She remembered him being pleasant enough, not a dick about having money and overall being pretty decent. Basically, exactly how Laxus had described him.

Yeah. If Laxus ever did end up complaining about his boss to her again, she knew it would probably be him being petty.

Laxus returned to the changing cubicle to try on the third suit. Cana unlocked her phone again and cycled through her twitter feed, watching as Laxus struggled against the small cubicle when he changed with the smallest of smirks on her face. Maybe she could see if Mira could drag Elfman over to try something on, they he and Laxus could struggle with the small booths at the same time.

A notification slid down from the top of her phone, making her smile a little as she opened the message from Mira and sent a quick reply. It seemed her synchronised struggling plan was a step closer to becoming reality.

 **From: Mira ^x^**

 _Hi. Just finished with the brewery and got the price I wanted! What store_

 _are the two of you in? I'll come by and help if you haven't killed each other_

 _already :)_

 **To: Mira ^x^**

 _Seaton's. the place with the carpet that looks like its from the sixties by the_

 _furniture store. And its great about the contract, means I can steal like double_

 _the booze and feel the same amount of guilt. And you make more money_

 _to spend on me. Love ya ;) ;) ;)_

 **From: Mira ^x^**

 _Or you could not steal anything and have no guilt. But I'll be there soon._

 _See you :-^_

Cana grinned, pocketing her phone as Laxus left in the next suit. This one was the best so far: a velvet blue jacket, waistcoat and trousers with a white shirt and slightly brighter blue tie. The shoes didn't exactly work with the outfit and it the jacket was a little scruffy, but that would be fixed with a trip to a shoe shop and a changing area that would better suit the large blonde. But overall, it worked well and flirted the line with it being professional and casual. She suspected that was what Laxus wanted.

The blonde immediately walked to the mirror – as Cana's contribution to the day had been taking him to the store and literally nothing else – and looked at himself. Without knowing it, he agreed with Cana. This was definitely the best of the suits so far. And he expected that this would remain his favourite, given that the other two Cana had picked out for him were not good. He half suspected she had picked them out to force him to wear just to tease him.

"Well don't you look fancy." A voice gentler than Cana's came from behind. He turned to see Mirajane walking to them. "So, you two didn't kill each other. I'm proud of you both. Hi, by the way."

Mirajane leant down and gave Cana a chaste kiss, pulling away before Cana's raised arms could trap her into a more passionate exchange. Instead, she looked Laxus up and down. The blonde seemed to be a little uncomfortable at the gaze, if the twitching of his fingers was anything to go by. But he knew Mira was the best person to give him advice, she was actually a fashionable person. She had claimed both his and Cana's style was 'unique' and 'an acquired taste.'

"It's good. Smart." She smiled, looking to her girlfriend. "Is this the first one, what did the other's look like?"

"First was good. It had a pattern though, looks a little casual." Cana said, motioning to the open cubicle where the suit was hung up and visible. Mirajane walked to it, looked at it for a moment and turned back to them both.

"No. You're right, looks a little casual. And it won't work with a lot of other shirts and trousers." She smiled a little. "And I mean this with all the love and care I have for you Laxus, I don't think you can keep up with your laundry fast enough to handle it."

Laxus was indeed offended. Mira's love and care didn't help.

"And they grey one's a little better. But it doesn't have much colour, it'll contrast a little with your hair really." She glanced at Laxus, lifting a sleeve of the jacket and looking at it beside the blonde's hair. Definitely a contrast. "And the other two are hideous. I'm guessing Cana is the one who picked these out for you?"

Cana grinned proudly and gave a small salute to her girlfriend, cackling when Laxus threw a small box containing a bow tie at her. She caught it and went to throw it back, but Mirajane took it from her and placed it back on the display that Laxus had taken it from. She then walked to the blonde and looked him up and down again. She reached up and played around with his tie, removing it from around his neck and undoing the top button. Both Laxus and Mirajane ignored Cana's claim that she was the one Mira should be undressing. They also both missed the foul expression of the store worker that apparently didn't like Cana much.

"There. Perfect." Mirajane smiled.

"You sure?" Laxus said, glancing at himself in the mirror. It did look better but the lack of a tie seemed a little too much. "Ain't this a little informal? The guy was wearing a cravat when we met."

"Trust me, you look great. And Freed won't be that bothered by what you're wearing." She patted Laxus on the bicep. "Come on. You change, we'll get you some shirts and then we can go to lunch. Then we'll get you some good shoes, because those are hideous."

Again, Cana cackled as Laxus rolled his eyes and walked back to his cubicle. Once he closed the curtains, Cana wrapped her arms around Mirajane's waist from behind and pulled her close. Mirajane smiled and turned in her girlfriend's grasp, leant up and gave her another chaste kiss. She smiled a little, tucking a piece of hair behind Cana's ear and resting their heads together.

"Congrats on getting the contract." Cana smiled. "It's really great, was it hard to convince the guy?"

"A little. At first, he was adamant that he stick with his original price. But I managed to convince him to take my price when I agreed to use all his commercial items." She smiled a little when Cana frowned. "Coasters with the beer brand on it. Put one of those sidewalk chalkboards with the company name on it outside, those kinds of things. But that works well, I've been wanting a chalkboard for a while; Elfman's more artistic than you'd expect so he could do cute little drawings on them. Anyway, so now I'm basically getting paid to get one."

"We should celebrate. I mean, you did say we should get some lunch. Why not make it a little fancy?" She smirked when Mirajane nodded. "And since blondie's been bragging about his raise all day, his smug ass is gonna pay."

"Like hell I will!" Was exclaimed from behind the curtain.

* * *

Sitting on a leather-bound dining chair, Freed sent a quick glance to the collection of playing cards in his right hand. His face showed nothing as he looked across the muted glass table to his opponent, eyes unblinkingly calculating as he looked for any tells the man might have shown. Rather annoyingly, his opponent knew that he would be doing this so looked directly at his eyes, a toying smirk on his face.

Freed had known Loke for quite some time. He had first met the young bachelor when he had played against Freed in his father's place – Loke's father was abysmal at poker, Freed had proven that multiple times – and Freed had lost money in a game for the first time that year. Loke was humble in his victory, unlike his father, and the two young men had chosen to share a drink. They'd become friends shortly after and, as Loke offered unique challenge of being competent at a card game, they began to play a friendly game once a month for a social occasion. Hence why the two men were sitting in the bachelor's penthouse with a modest stack of money and a handful of cards.

"You're glaring at me." Loke smiled a little as he spoke. "These games grant me the pleasure to see your eyes so close. How am I meant to admire them properly when you hide them from me?"

"You're meant to be focusing on the game." Freed spoke in a calm voice. "I hardly seen how my eyes are important to that."

"Oh Freed, who needs a silly game to entertain them when beauty is present before them?"

Freed chuckled a little, reaching for the glass of scotch on the table and taking a small sip. He was used to Loke's flirting, charm was essentially the bachelors first language. With a smooth tongue, handsome face, body that looked good in the suits he favoured and the eventual inheritance of a company worth millions, the ginger often found himself topping local tabloids 'most eligible bachelor' lists. Freed often populated those lists as well, but Loke was always in a higher position and apparently took great joy in informing Freed of this fact.

But the flirting was harmless. Freed had realised on their first meeting that Loke flirted for fun, not because he wanted a relationship. He wasn't offended by the comments – if he was, he would have informed Loke and he would have stopped – so the flirting became a regular part of their friendship.

After placing his glass down on the table again, Freed picked up chips that equated to fifteen dollars and slid them into the middle of the table; his hand wasn't too bad, and this was a friendly game, so it was an appropriate bet. Loke glanced at it, picked up an equal amount of chips and then raised him five dollars, setting the bet to twenty. Freed glanced at Loke, scanning his face for any sign as to why he had done this. He was met only with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Although, perhaps I should expect that I'll soon have to share your eyes." Loke continued, picking up his glass of rosé. "I've heard rumours that you've been on a date or two with a handsome blonde. Is this a misunderstanding, or should I run crying to my bedroom now?"

Freed's brow furrowed slightly. It was obvious that he had heard about he and Laxus meeting on more than one occasion; it could be considered a date to someone who was observing carelessly. Freed's confusion was from who this observer was and how their incorrect observation had managed to reach Loke.

"At least wait until I take your money until you throw a tantrum." Freed spoke, ignoring his confusion. "And I'm afraid your rumours are incorrect. He's my employee, not my lover."

"So, there's hope for me yet." Loke grinned as Freed, after taking a moments contemplation, raised another five dollars. "Why do you need an employee? Unless your situation has changed, you don't own a company."

Loke was quick to raise a further five dollars, now leaving the bet at thirty. The gusto and confidence the chip was moved with suggested that Loke was sure that his hand would win. Of course, this could be a bluff and he was simply trying to make Freed think he had a good hand so he would fold. He'd fallen for this trick once or twice with Loke. Most of his other opponents couldn't quite get the balance right, being just a little too cocky with their bluff that it raised suspicion. Loke was much better at acting, Freed had to wonder if the bachelor had ever considered doing it professionally.

But that was beside the point, he wouldn't fall into the trap Loke may have set. Thirty dollars was a good amount to win, and not too much to lose. He slid a five-dollar chip into the pot to match Loke's amount, ignoring the small smirk on Loke's face as he didn't reach for another. He didn't let it bother him, Loke wouldn't drop an act until the cards were shown.

"I call." He said, reaching for his scotch again. "And perhaps employee isn't the right term. I hired him to be my driver. I was interviewing him for the position in public, which must have been confused as a date by your informant."

"The traffic finally got to you then. I knew it would." Loke chuckled. "Why did you interview him? You could've just got one from a chauffeur agency, I could have given you the number for the guys I use."

Loke placed his cards on the table, face up. He had four queens and the two of spades, giving him the 'four of a kind' hand. Freed sighed a little as he placed his own hand down; two aces and three kings. It was a full house, yes, but Loke's hand was higher than his own. Freed reached for his money and slid out three immaculate ten-dollar notes, handing them over to Loke and taking his chips back. Freed always handed the money across at the end of a round instead of letting the chips stack up; it made it simple and it subconsciously reminded him that he was playing for money and not for plastic. It was a little thing that was probably inconsequential, but it was a habit he'd gotten into and didn't see the point in breaking it.

As Freed began to shuffle the deck – the loser of the previous round always shuffled, supposedly it was more fair – he considered Loke's question. He supposed going through some kind of agency was the sensible thing to do, but he had his reasons for choosing Laxus.

"I happened to meet him in a bar, we got along, and he revealed he was unemployed and used to drive professionally." Freed said, not looking at the cards as he shuffled them. "It was a logical step at the time, and I stand by it."

"As expected. You're more stubborn than you like to think." Loke grinned, taking another sip of his rosé. "And because of that stubbornness, I won't press you further on the real reason you hired him."

Freed didn't reply. Partly because it annoyed him that Loke could see through him in the same way that he could see through most people, and partly because he was grateful Loke's understanding treatment of the situation. This was part of the reason as to why they were friends, Loke was more than willing as to accept Freed's privacy just as Freed was willing to accept that half of what Loke said was flirting. They were well suited for each other in that respect.

The cards were dealt quickly, Freed picked up his scotch again before glancing at his own hand. It was good, so he faked a split-second frown. He picked the hand up and spread the cards across the table, face down, in an even curve. He leant back and watched as Loke looked through his own cards, seeing if there was any sign of either disappointment or excitement. As expected, the bachelor revealed nothing.

Loke started the pot this time, raising only ten dollars. This meant nothing, the bachelor would always throw random acts of misdirection into a game. It was this that made him such an entertaining opponent for Freed. The unpredictable nature of the games always added that extra edge.

"So, how exactly did you hear about these rumours?" Freed said as he raised another five dollars into the pot.

"I can't expose my sources, Freed. That would be immoral."

"If you were a journalist, perhaps." Freed watched as Loke raised the pot a further five dollars. "And there's most certainly an argument claiming you using these 'sources' to spy on me is also immoral. So, I ask again, how did you come upon this rumour?"

"That little truck stop diner you speak so highly of, I paid it a little visit after I had some out of town business." Loke smirked. "When I was ordering, I got to talking to the beautiful woman serving. I mentioned the food came highly recommended by a friend, she asked who this friend was and, shockingly, the handsome man with long green hair was enough for her to recognise you. She then mentioned you'd been there the day before with a handsome blonde, both of you looking dressed for a date. It's a fair assumption."

"I wouldn't say we were dressed for a date, as such." Freed commented, adding another five dollars to the pot. "And I'd appreciate you not using me as a way to flirt with waitresses."

Loke laughed a little, biting his tongue about how Freed hadn't mentioned he shouldn't gossip about him in a non-flirtatious way. Instead, he added an extra five dollars to the pot and made it thirty dollars. In the low stakes games the two men played, a thirty-dollar pot was one of Freed's cut off points where he typically would fold or call if needed, so seeing Freed's next move would tell him a little about the hand he had. He didn't always do this, and he certainly wouldn't have such an obvious technique for his real games with the people he considered 'clients', but it was the closest thing to a tell he had.

Raising the pot to thirty-five dollars, Freed finished the scotch in his glass and placed it back onto the table. He stood and walked to the drinks cabinet, glancing at the rainy Magnolia skyline through the glass doors that lead to Loke's balcony. Freed would have preferred to be playing there – where they would have been if the weather were better – as the penthouse balcony had a spectacular view that Freed's apartment couldn't match.

The gambler didn't feel the need to check Loke wasn't cheating as he found a scotch he liked in the rows of alcohol. Instead, he picked the bottle he liked and poured himself another glass, also bringing over the rosé when he saw Loke's glass was nearly empty.

"This driver then." Loke began, raising another five dollars to the pot. "Tell me something, other than that he has 'a jaw you could cut glass on.' You know, I should be annoyed at you. Your handsome driver really put me at a disadvantage with the waitress."

"I'm sure you didn't let that stop you." Freed teased. "And there's not much to tell, not yet at least. His name is Laxus, he used to work as a garbage man and we have a similar taste in music. Now, let's make this a little interesting."

Freed pushed enough disks that would raise the pot by twenty dollars, making the bet an even sixty. Loke smirked and immediately did the same, taking the bet to eighty. If Freed's confidence was well founded and not just a bluff, Loke would lose the play. His hand was average at best, but he didn't care about losing. It was basically his father's money and unless he started betting in the thousands, he would occupy the moral and financial high ground in relation to losing money to Freed. With this in mind, he leant back as he let Freed think through his next move.

The pot was soon raised to one hundred dollars and Freed was sipping at his scotch again. It was then that Loke started to think through his choice; their limit was five hundred dollars a round and it seemed that Freed was willing to go that far. Loke decided that it would be stupid to lose that much money, so he would make a final effort to make Freed fold before he would end the play.

"Don't forget about the jaw that could cut glass." Loke reminded Freed as he fiddled mindlessly with a chip he had picked up. "From what the waitress said, it was one of his most notable qualities."

"I can't say I took notice of it." Freed said. "What are you going to do, Loke?"

The bachelor laughed, tossing two twenty-dollar chips into the middle of the table to raise the pot to one-hundred-and-twenty dollars. He noticed that Freed was avoiding his eyes, only confirming to Loke that his friend had indeed noticed his new employees jaw. Most likely he had seen other attractive qualities in the blonde, if he was almost getting defensive.

"You _are_ allowed to find people attractive, Freed. Even if you're employing them." Loke leant back in his seat. "And, as long as you make sure they don't feel forced into it, you can date an employee. Its not like you're a teacher dating their student."

"Your father would disagree."

"No. My father doesn't want me flirting with staff because he thinks I'll end up sleeping with them and never calling them, affecting his business." Loke chuckled. "If he thought I was going to date one of them, he wouldn't stop me. And if he did it would make him a hypocrite. My mother was his secretary before they got married, you know."

Freed simply picked up some chips and raised the pot to one-hundred-and-forty. Loke matched it but didn't add anything onto the pot, placing his cards face up on the table and looking to Freed with inquisitive eyes as to his reaction. When there was none, he spoke again.

"All I'm saying is that there's no point in denying you find the man attractive. You don't need to act on it, but don't beat yourself up because you like his legs or whatever you're into." Loke smiled. "Now, show me your hand. If you don't, I'll keep talking."

Again, Freed didn't speak, but Loke hadn't expected him to. The gambler glanced at Loke's upturned cards first, not bothering to hide the smirk when he saw only a two pair; two eights, two threes and a king. He turned his cards over to reveal he had a straight flush, from the five of diamonds to the nine of the same suit. Loke started to count out the one-hundred-and-forty dollars as he saw Freed relax just a little and sip his newly poured scotch.

Loke had decided to leave the topic of Laxus alone. Freed clearly wasn't in the talking mood in relation to that and Loke knew his statement would have more weight if he left it as it was – Freed was the type of guy who contemplated things, after all.

The money was exchanged across the table and Freed placed it at the bottom of his pile – Loke knew it was to press out the few creases contained on the notes – and the deck was put together again. Loke started to shuffle it, lacking the faultless finesse that Freed's shuffling had. The cards were soon dealt, chips returned to their respective owners and drinks replenished as they readied themselves for the third round.

"You know, as we're both fairly wealthy, we've sort of lost the excitement of gambling, haven't we?" Loke asked with a small amount of humour in his voice. "Well, I believe I've come up with a rather entertaining solution to that-"

"I've told you this on multiple occasions, Loke." Freed frowned. "I will _not_ play strip poker with you."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Storm Begins

**Hello. I managed to get this done in two weeks again. I hope you all enjoy it, theres some development in their relationship in this one and a little look into Freed's past. I'm pretty happy with it, even if it strayed from what i planned at parts. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven – The Storm Begins**

Laxus wasn't the type to get nervous; not easily at least. But, as he walked past a row of expensive looking buildings in a part of Magnolia he barely knew towards the building Freed had claimed his car was stored in, he couldn't ignore the feeling of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He had chastised himself for his nervousness – it was just his first day, it wasn't like he was going to meet anyone new, and he'd driven with Freed before when they went to the diner and that was pretty much the extent of his job, so he had nothing to be worried about. But, as much as he told himself this, his nervousness remained.

Walking down the pretty pleasant street, he could see Freed waiting outside of a building with a closed metal gate. His new boss hadn't seen him yet, so Laxus took the moment to collect himself, take a short breath and straightening out the blazer of his suit. With the action giving himself a small boost in confidence, Laxus sped up his pace a little and approached Freed.

As Laxus got closer, Freed heard the footsteps and looked up. Upon seeing who it was, he pocketed his phone and closed the small gap between them with the smallest of welcoming smile; Laxus could see it despite the size. The gambler took a split-second glance at the clothes Laxus was wearing, not having expected him to be in a suit. Granted, he hadn't had any strong opinions on what the blonde should or would be wearing, but a suit certainly wasn't it. That wasn't a bad thing though, it made him look formal and in fitting with the image Freed tried to maintain.

"Good morning." Freed greeted. "I'm sorry I had to get you here so early, my client is quite particular in his ways. Doing things in the morning is included in this."

"No, its fine. Used to get up early before, so it ain't too bad really." Laxus said as he looked to the building beside them. "So, this is where you store your car, right? Guess I'll have to get used to being here."

Freed nodded and reached into the jacket pocket he had placed his phone, taking out a small key and handing it to Laxus; he quickly explained that it was the key to Freed's personal garage and that it made sense that Laxus should have a copy. As Laxus slid the key into his own jacket pocket, Freed turned to the exterior door and pushed a code into a keypad to unlatch the door. Laxus memorised it, the key Freed gave him would be pretty useless if he couldn't actually get into the building.

Inside, it seemed like an overly extravagant parking lot. On either side of the 'road' that pointed to the large gate, there was wide garage doors that Laxus assumed hid some pretty expensive cars. Freed's own garage was at the end of the row, the door adjacent to three vending machines' and a small office that Laxus guessed was for the manager of the building. The fact the place had someone working there at all times was a testament to how professional an establishment it was.

"Do you want to open it, to make sure they key actually works." At Freed's words, Laxus reached back into his pocket. When he did this, Freed glanced at his clothing. "That suits fairly new, isn't it? If you brought it specifically for working here, I can pay you for it."

"Nah, that ain't necessary. Wasn't too expensive anyway." Laxus said as he unlocked the smaller door beside the garage.

The blonde had lied; it was expensive, but nothing his finances couldn't handle. And he certainly wasn't going to be taking handouts now that he got paid practically double than he did before, not when he'd had issues with taking money on his old, smaller paycheque. Freed hadn't said anything but decided he would advance Laxus' payday to an earlier time in the month, he was familiar with that brand of suit and knew they never came cheap. That, and Laxus seemed to be forgetting he was talking with someone who saw through lies professionally. To Freed, he was practically transparent.

Laxus, after unlocking and opening the door, held it open and allowed Freed to walk through it. When he followed his new boss, he saw Freed's immaculate car in a large, nearly empty garage. There was definitely enough room for two cars, and Laxus couldn't help but wonder if he was ever going buy another vehicle to fill the space that Laxus could drive. But that was being greedy, he already had access to one pretty amazing car.

Freed didn't notice Laxus' admiration of the room, instead going to the back wall where a set of draws and cupboards were installed. He opened a draw and removed the spare key for his car and a remote that opened the garage door and the buildings gate, turning back to Laxus and proffering them both to him.

"Here." He caught Laxus' attention as he spoke. "I assume you'll want to keep them on your person, instead of borrowing them every day."

"Thanks." Laxus nodded. "Should we get in now or is there anything else you need to do?"

"No, nothing comes to mind, so I suppose we should."

As Freed approached the car, Laxus unlocked it and walked to the driver's side. He wasn't entirely sure how far Freed was going to take the chauffeur thing – was Laxus meant to hold the door open for him – but his answer came when Freed climbed into the car himself. Laxus also noted he was climbing into the passenger seat instead of at the back, which suggested to Laxus that he wanted to have the option of conversation instead of just sitting in silence. Although, it was possible he was overthinking things.

He climbed into the car besides Freed, again running his hands over the leather steering wheel with admiration for the vehicle. He would probably have to stop drooling over the car if he was going to drive it regularly. Freed noticed this and let out a small chuckle, Laxus stopping and removing his hands from the wheel as if he was a child caught doing something he shouldn't be.

"Sorry." He muttered, a small flush on his face. "You don't mind if I adjust the seat, do you. It's a little cramped."

"Oh no, of course." Freed said as he put his seatbelt on. "Beside your leg there's three numbered buttons. Once you've set the seat how you want, press the second button and it'll save the settings. My preference is set to the first button, so we can choose between them depending on who's going to drive."

Laxus nodded and began to play with the switches that adjusted the seat. As he did this, Freed looked at him with curiosity. Perhaps it was the suit and the slicked back hairstyle that contrasted with how Laxus had previously presented himself, but the blonde seemed to have a sense of elegance to him. He certainly wasn't dainty, it would take something significant for a man of Laxus' size to be considered dainty, but there was a sense of purpose to his actions, all of which were performed with fluidity. It was a quality Freed respected, and it reinforced his decision to hire Laxus as a good one.

As he looked at the blonde, his mind rather annoyingly flickered back to the conversation he'd had with Loke; specifically that he was allowed to find Laxus attractive. Just because it wasn't morally wrong, it didn't mean Freed actually did find him attractive. Even if, when Loke brought up the blonde's chin, the first thing that flashed into his thoughts was that his chin wasn't the most noteworthy physical attribute.

The gambler quickly distracted himself; if he needed to have this internal quandary, he wasn't going to do it with dilemma's subject sitting beside him. He shifted in his seat slightly and looked towards the blonde's face as he finished adjusting his seat.

"If you plan on listening to music, you should probably set your phone up with the car before we start driving."

"Yeah, sure." Laxus said.

Freed tried not to pay attention to Laxus, wanting to fully rid his mind of Loke's comments for now, but couldn't help but notice him fumble with pocket as he removed his phone. It shouldn't have been a big issue, but with the elegance in his actions before, Freed took note and glanced at him again. This time, he made sure to actually look at him properly.

His pupils were slightly dilated, grasp too tight on his phone and jaw clenched just enough to stop whatever inner monologue he was going through from slipping out. They were some of the obvious signs of nervousness Freed had picked up – though less obvious on the blonde compared to a rich person losing a large amount of money – and it made him realise that, for Laxus, today might be significant in his life and his nervousness should have been obvious.

"Are you okay?" He asked, the slight jump in Laxus' shoulders suggesting he had been wrapped up in his own thoughts. "Obviously, you're nervous. So, I suppose what I should have asked is, do you need to take a moment to collect yourself before we leave? My client can wait for a few minutes if you need it, he plays worse when agitated so it would work in my favour."

"Nah. No need for that, unless you really want to." Laxus chuckled. "Just a little first day nerves, I guess."

"Of course." Freed nodded. "I understand that it can be intimidating. I'd say I sympathise, but I've never had to experience it myself."

"Seriously, you never had a first day at work?" Laxus shifted to look towards Freed when he shook his head.

"Not formally, no. I've been a gambler for all of my adult life, essentially, and by the time I realised I was doing it professionally it was too late to be nervous." Freed explained. "And before that, I wasn't permitted to get any kind of job, so this is all I've ever done."

Laxus felt himself intrigued by that. He hadn't really thought much about Freed's job, other than it was unconventional, but the fact he had supposedly been gambling all his adult life caused a lot of questions. One of the biggest questions was that, if he started when he was that young, had he always been good at gambling. This then lead him to question how Freed had actually gotten into his profession; this question was something Laxus found himself craving the answer to, and he saw that time better than any other to enquire about it.

"You never actually mentioned how you got into gambling." Laxus began with a small amount of caution. "I mean, you don't need to tell me if you don't wanna. Just a little curious."

"No, I don't mind. It's not as interesting as you might think." Freed smiled a little. "As I suggested, I fell into it by chance. I grew up in an environment that was far from wealthy, but on my eighteenth birthday I was gifted some money. I believe it was around one-hundred and twenty dollars, but I'm not too sure. Anyhow, as thankful as I was for this, I wished to purchase something that costed more than what I had and was pretty determined to get it.

"I'd been playing poker without any money on the table for years, some of my older friends had taught me how and I was getting rather good. So because I was old enough to gamble legally, I decided to go to a casino. I thought I'd either end the night with enough money to buy what I wanted, or I would have had an enjoyable time with my friends. So, me and some friends went to a nearby casino. I played on the poker tables for a little while and managed to make a fair amount of profit."

As he spoke, he noticed that Laxus occasionally nod to show he was paying attention. Freed very rarely told this story as nobody expressed interest in it, so having someone play close attention to him as he spoke was a new experience. He also noticed Laxus' pupils expand just a little form what they were before, a sign that he wasn't as nervous as before.

"While I looked for a job – I couldn't afford the debt of university, so that was the next step for me – I frequented the casino regularly. I made sure not to risk my savings, so set strict limits on how much I could gamble, but I mainly made more money than I lost. That apparently was noticed by a businessman who went to the same casino on the same day I did, so he challenged me to one on one game, claiming he would win. He didn't, as he was awful, and claimed he was 'off his game' that night. We played again on another night, he lost again. This happened a few times until he insisted we gamble at his home, without the distractions and so he could have a 'home field advantage.' I agreed and won again. This happened quite a few times."

Laxus chuckled a little. "Sounds like a stubborn bastard if he didn't realise he wasn't gonna win after that any times."

"He was, but he learnt eventually. He resorted to having me play his son, who put up more of a challenge." Freed smiled a little. "That's not entirely related to the story, though. After a particularly nasty defeat, he decided that I was just better than him. Coincidentally, a business partner had started to take liberties of some kind - I didn't ask what - so he proposed that I play the partner and deface him. As I was making money off the man and still hadn't found a job, I decided to do it. And again, I won. To cut a long story short, I started to make a name for myself as a challenge for the elite to face and, of course, the wealthy people of Magnolia believe they're unstoppable, so they all started to play with me. Most of them lost and I started to make a sizable amount of money. For as long as people wanted to gamble with me, I saw no reason to look for another job where I'd get less money."

"You really did fall into it then?" Laxus grinned a little, Freed nodding. "Sounds like they see you as a kind of novelty."

"Perhaps that is how they see me. But for as long as I can make money off their arrogance, I don't see the point in bothering about their opinion."

Laxus chuckled and nodded, looking forward to the car again and pushing the button that turned on the engine. Freed's story had made him relax a little, partly as it served as a distraction for the nerves and partly because Freed had revealed he wasn't a born and bred rich guy. The blonde guessed maybe that was why he was down to earth; because he really wasn't a rich guy. Just a guy with money.

The story also made Freed seem a little more real to him. He had an aura of perfection around him, that he had planned out every action and never came against something he couldn't handle; Laxus suspected this was an image he wanted to show his 'clients' so they would be intimidated. The fact his success was accidental allowed that aura to crack slightly, something that Laxus was happy that happened as it also cracked the small barrier between them that Laxus felt.

"So what you're saying is you're the zero to hero thing. Started off poor, now you're well off." Laxus spoke in a slightly teasing tone. "Real American dream, huh. Got your big break by doing something risky, kinda seedy and that might have ruined your life. The American spirit at its finest."

Although Laxus couldn't be sure, he was almost positive that it was the first time he heard an actual laugh come from the other man. It filled him with a little more confidence, Freed wasn't just the stoic gambler that he could be confused with. The face he was good naturedly nodding, as if he agreed with the claim to an extent, only encouraged the blonde.

"Bet you started out as a party animal or something. Arriving at nightclubs in flash cars and buying everyone drinks, right?" He continued, Freed smiling at him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but even when I was young I lived modesty." He chuckled. "I knew that it only takes a bad couple of weeks and your life can fall apart. So when I started to gamble professionally, I made sure that wouldn't happen by setting some rules. Every game I set a limit to what I can gamble, and I have savings I never put at risk. So, even if my bank account disagrees, I'm not nearly as flashy as that."

"Well, if that's true then maybe you should treat yourself."

Freed let out a single, small laugh as if saying he would think about it. Laxus picked up the remote that opened the garage and pushed it, the large white door slowly opening. As he did, Laxus picked up his phone and opened the music app. He opened his workout playlist and put it on shuffle, a high energy song coming through the speakers of the car. As he tapped the steering wheel to the sound of the beat, he noticed that Freed was tapping his foot in time also.

When the garage door was fully opened, he drove the car out of the garage and onto the small road that separated the two rows of garages. He pushed the button again to close the door and slowly drove towards the large metal gates.

As he drove, he glanced towards Freed again and smiled. It seemed that he really was getting into the music, as his eyes were closed and his head was nodding slightly to the beat. Laxus slightly wondered if Freed also felt their conversation about how he got into gambling had brought them just a little closer. Perhaps he was a little more comfortable around Laxus now and was letting his guard down.

"You know the song, huh?" Laxus said as he stopped before the gate, pushing the button to open it on the same remote.

"Yes, although you're one of the only people I know who's heard it before." Freed answered, not showing the small amount of embarrassment he felt at being caught. "It used to be played constantly at my gym, I think someone complained because they played it so much. But I always thought it was good at keeping me energised."

"Me too. That why I put it on my workout playlist." Laxus chuckled. "And I found out about it because of the gym too. You don't go to the one at the corner of that fancy ass block with the new mall, by the newsstand with the woman who flirts with every guy wearing shorts."

Freed looked towards Laxus when he heard that. The description completely mirrored Freed's own gym, even down to the woman who had made some unwanted advances about how she could show him 'a good way to get cardio.'

"I do, actually. And I'm slightly offended that her flirting isn't just aimed at me. I'll have to bring it up with her next time I see her." Freed joked slightly, Laxus laughing. "So, by the detail of your description I'm guessing you go there too, or at least did at one point. A bit of a coincidence, perhaps we've been there at the same time?"

"I think I would've noticed you, kinda got a distinctive look." Laxus chuckled. "Still though, the two of us going to the same gym, it's a small world."

"Or we live in an area of the city that doesn't have many gyms." Freed said in a slightly teasing tone. "If it's not too intrusive, what time do you do your workout? I'm usually there in the middle of the day, unless my timetable doesn't allow it, so either you go at a different time or you're not very vigilant in relation to my distinctive look."

Laxus chuckled a little, glad Freed was joking with him. "First choice, actually. I go at night. In my old job I had to wake up early and work all day, so that was the only time I had." He paused for a second, watching as the gates slowly opened. He would press the remote as he drove towards the gates next time, with how slow they were. "How long have you been going there? I used to work out at mid-day before I got my job. At about one, I think."

"I've been there since I was eighteen and could pay for it, so perhaps we had been there at the same time." Freed said, seemingly used to the slow opening of the gates. "I wouldn't have stood out as much, if it was a few years ago though. I had my hair short and a darker shade, it nearly looked brown."

"Maybe we did." Laxus chuckled when the gates finally opened fully. "If it's true, it really would be a small world.

He began to drive again, the bright sun of he morning a stark contrast to yellow lights that illuminated the inside of the building. He turned right, as the GPS had been set up to Freed's client and that was where it directed them, and began to think about what Freed had said. He caught a glance of his new employer's face in the bright light, setting his mind back to his time working out in the middle of the day to see if there was anyone who looked like Freed with shorter hair.

As he drove down the narrow road, his mind flickered to one man from the gym in particular. A man a couple years younger than him with odd looking brown hair and a face that always looked pretty stern. Laxus rarely saw him, only when he went for his workout early did their paths cross, but Laxus remember he found himself distracted by the younger man on the odd occasion they were in the same room, having let his eyes stray towards him often.

But no, that wasn't possible. His mind was just connecting dots that had no business being connected. He simply wanted to make it seem like he had more of a connection than there actually was. It was the same sensation as déjà vu; the thought had crossed his mind and now he was trying to convince himself it was reality. That was it.

With that settled in his mind, he did everything he could to ignore the other issue presented. Even if Freed wasn't the guy from the gym and it was just his mind playing tricks on him, he had still confused his new boss with a guy he found hot. Which, of course, left him with one question.

What the hell did he actually think of the man sitting next to him?


	8. Chapter 8 - The Gym

**Hi. Still managing to get things done in two weeks, and I've already got the next chapter drafted out, so I should be able to keep to schedule. But I do have some exams coming up, so excuse me if I slip up. I'll try not to, but you never know what'll happen. I'm also trying to participate in the Raijinshuu Week this year, which might take up some time. Anyhow, this chapter has more Fraxus in than any other yet, so have fun.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight – The Gym**

"I should be in there for an hour or so." Freed said, leaning on the passenger side door of his car. "If it ends up taking longer than that, I'll text you."

Laxus nodded as he looked towards his boss, still sitting in the car. The trip from Freed's garage to the parking lot of his client's building had been uneventful, the traffic was relatively clear and the route easy to memorise. It had, however, been a little quiet. Laxus was trying, and failing, to keep his mind off the earlier revelation about his new boss, and Freed didn't seem to mind the lack of conversation; Laxus had to wonder if he had realised the slight, and hopefully subtle, change in Laxus' mood as they drove.

"I should go. As I mentioned, my client is incredibly insistent on punctuality." Freed continued. "I hope the time isn't too tedious. I believe there's a Starbucks nearby, if you get bored or need something to eat or drink."

"Thanks. Might check it out." Laxus gave another nod. "Good luck with your client."

"Thank you. I'll see you in a little while then."

"See ya."

After Laxus spoke, Freed closed the door and walked towards the building. Laxus watched as his boss walked through inside and was greeted by the doorman, deflating slightly and leaning against the back of his seat. He hadn't noticed the tension that had formed in his shoulders, but as his boss walked away he felt is dissipate. His eyes closed and he reached for the volume controls of the car, allowing himself to relax in the quietness of the vehicle as he ran a hand through his slicked back hair. He had no intentions of leaving the car while he waited, so decided that he might as well get comfortable and adjust the seat, reclining it slightly.

His reasons for not wanting to leave the car was irrational. Simply put, it was the first time he had been left in charge of Freed's car and, with his luck, the moment it was out of sight it would get scratched or vandalised in some way. If he had taken a moment to think about it, he would have realised people didn't vandalise cars parked in a nearly empty parking-lot with CCTV at every entrance. But, at that moment, rationality was the last thing on his mind.

The possibility of him having seen Freed before what he had assumed was their first meeting at Mira's bar – and that he had found him attractive no less – had certainly thrown him through a loop. And the more he thought about it, the worse the implications of this fact were.

"Fucking hell." He whispered to himself. "Things are always complicated with you, huh Dreyar?"

As he adjusted the air vents in the car, so that they were pointed at his face, he sighed loudly and let his mind wonder. So what if there was a chance that he had found a guy who _might_ have been Freed attractive a couple years ago? That didn't mean anything, and it certainly didn't mean he found Freed attractive now. The fact he wasn't sure if the guy was Freed or not backed that up; so if it turned out the guy at the gym was Freed, he looked different enough for the confusion to occur.

Even if the reasoning was relatively strong, he still had doubts.

Hypothetically, if he did end up finding Freed attractive again, that wasn't exactly illegal. He wasn't some bratty teenager who couldn't control himself, he was an adult who knew better than to act out of impulse. Yes, it might be a little awkward at the start, but he could deal with that.

Still, it had probably just a lust thing. At that time, he was a little younger, his sex drive was the same as every other arrogant twenty-year-old and that coupled with the then recent revelation of his attraction to both genders, meant that he was just, well, interested in everything and everyone. His actual opinions of the guy at the gym might have just been a casual interest, perhaps a fleeting glance where he thought the guy was pretty good looking, just like the thought process of practically everyone that age. He'd probably thought the same thing every time he'd passed a good-looking person in the street or at a mall or something, this one simply had stuck out because of the circumstances.

He was still doubting himself.

First of all, the gym guy wasn't just some random passer by who had caught his eye. Laxus had seen him a couple of times and always thought he was attractive. Secondly, the association with Freed being the guy in the gym, being the guy who had interested him years prior, was instant. There had been no doubt they might be the same person, nor slow realisation. And as for it being a simple lust thing, he was simply just lying to himself.

As he thought back to the occasional encounters with the gym guy, he remembered a time he had nearly talked to him. The moment that thought crossed his mind, Laxus groaned. He was now sure it was Freed, for one simple fact.

Freed was a friend of Mirajane's, so probably knew her brother as well. The same brother that used to spot for Laxus when they were at the gym together. The same brother who Laxus had seen working out with the gym guy when he and the guy were there together. The same brother who had offered Laxus the gym guy's number. Elfman Strauss.

Laxus sighed, running a hand over his face as he thought back to that very moment.

 _Muscles straining under a shirt specifically worn for a workout, Laxus made a conscious effort to control his breathing. His torso rocked back and forward as he pumped both of his arms, sweat covering his face at the shockingly intensive workout. The rowing machine was rarely empty – Laxus assumed because people saw it was a challenge and wanted to prove themselves capable – so the blond was obviously going to jump at the chance when its availability coincided with the day he set aside for building up the muscles in his arms._

 _The twenty-one-year old barely ever got to work out in the middle of the day after getting his new job, and he missed it. The only reason he could do it then was because his work-union was on strike, ironically about unfair work hours. Laxus wasn't going to join the pointless protest at Magnolia city hall, instead he decided to enjoy his day off and get an extra intense workout that he hardly had time to do._

 _It had been the correct choice, by all accounts. Not only did he get full access to the rowing machine on his arm-day, but half way though his workout two people had entered the gym and set up directly opposite him. The first man was someone Laxus knew very well, a teenage bodybuilder whose usual workout happened to occur at the same time as Laxus' had; Elfman Strauss. When Laxus had started out at the gym, being a fairly weedy teenager, Elfman had helped him out more than he cared to admit. The two had happened to be working out beside each other and, when Elfman had seen Laxus using the machine he was on incorrectly, he had offered his assistance. Not only had he spotted for him, allowing him to push himself with the weightlifting more than if he were alone, he had helped out with advice on his diet and how to maintain a strong physique. Laxus wasn't as large as Elfman, and had no plans of being so, but there was no doubt Elfman was responsible for the muscular physique the blonde was sporting._

 _The other man was also somewhat familiar to Laxus. A younger guy with shoulder length hair a weirdly brown and green shade. Laxus had only seen him on the rare occurrences he could go to the gym in the middle of the day, and he'd always caught his eye. Laxus couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but he found the guy to be pretty good looking. So, whenever they worked out at the same time, Laxus had to stop himself form glancing towards him._

 _Despite recognizing them both, he had never seen them together. He suspected Elfman was doing what he did for Laxus with the other guy. Laxus hoped he wasn't going to make the guy a bodybuilder, the blonde didn't know if it would suit him. Although, from the occasional glances he got at the guys biceps, he wasn't exactly slender, so maybe he could pull it off. Not that it was any of Laxus' actual concern, given that the guy was someone he barely saw, and he could get as buff as he wanted._

 _The two men had walked to a weightlifting area, the bench almost completely opposite the rowing machine. Laxus tried not to stare as the guy lied with his back and Elfman slid weights onto a bar suspended on its holders; he didn't want to weird the guy out._

 _For a considerable while, he had managed to avoid looking like a total creep. He had turned his music up and slid the rowing machine to a higher level of resistance, meaning he could focus both on the music beating through his earphones and the strenuous exercise that he was forcing himself through. The damn rowing machine really had earned its infamy, the blonde's arms felt like they were burning. But, eventually, his plan failed when he glanced up and saw the other guy mid workout._

 _"Damn." He mumbled to himself. "Definitely not skinny."_

 _Going against his own good sense, he looked up and got a better view of the man as his impressive looking muscles flexed. His barbell seemed to have some pretty heavy weights on it, but the guy was dealing with them with ease. Well, with as much ease as you could get when lifting with Elfman; the bodybuilder never gave Laxus a break. From where he sat, the blonde could see the mans biceps strain and flex as his arms stretched out as high as they could go, before slowly curling back as he lowered the bar to his chest._

 _He looked down to his own lap again, trying to focus on his workout. He couldn't help but glance back, this time taking in the man's full appearance rather than just his arms. He was good looking, which confused Laxus a little. People rarely actually looked good when they worked out – sweat, red faces and aching bodies weren't attractive, at all – and yet the guy was still sort of handsome. It was his mannerisms perhaps; other than his arms, his body was rigidly still. And the movements of his arms were fluid, elegant even. The guy almost managed to look like he was going through a real-life version of the fake workouts that were forced into crappy rom-coms to make sexual tension. Only he actually looked like he was doing exercise, instead of just having been squirted with water and placed on a treadmill._

 _As he wondered if those kinds of thoughts were inappropriate, the music on his phone came to an abrupt stop and was replaced by a loud bleeping. It took him a few moments to realise that it was the alarm telling him his workout was over. When he did realise it, he removed his headphones, climbed out from the rowing machine and began to walk to the locker room._

 _"Elf." He greeted with a nod as he walked past, the larger man looking up._

 _"Hey man." Elfman nodded back, before looking back to the guy who continued to bench-press. "Sorry I can't talk out now. He won't need me for much longer. I'll catch up with you in the locker room, okay?_

 _"Sure. See you in there then."_

 _With a split-second glance at the other guy, Laxus began to walk away. He wiped his face with the towel resting around his shoulders, pushing open the door and entering the locker room that was thankfully empty. He was used to it being filled with a load of annoying city guys who had just got off work and were taking a workout before they went home. He didn't exactly care about the privacy issues, but hearing them make stupid jokes and laugh obnoxiously loud about them grated on his nerves, so he certainly didn't miss them._

 _He walked to his locker and sat at the bench before it, leaning his back against the cool metal and enjoying the feeling. He reached for his bottle of water and gulped some down, closing his eyes as he began to wind himself down from the workout._

 _Eyes closed, he was aware of the door opening and someone walking into the locker room. True to his word, Elfman really hadn't needed to stay with the guy much longer, as Laxus must have only been in there five minutes or so before Elfman had joined him. The blonde looked towards him as Elfman walked in, going to his own locker a little further down the room._

 _Laxus stood up and opened his locker, placing his phone and water bottle in it. He looked towards Elfman, removing his shirt and stuffing it into the lower shelf of the locker, on top of the sealed gym bag that contained his casual clothes._

 _"Your friend not with ya?" He said as he sifted through his bag to find another, cleaner towel._

 _"He's in the pool. Doing a warm down kinda thing, uses the other locker room 'cause it's closer." Elfman explained as he opened his own locker, squirting cold water over his face. "You're not usually here in the middle of the day. You been holding out on me man?"_

"Day off. Union shit; thought I might as well make the most of it." Laxus removed his undershirt, the sweat making it stick to him slightly. "And you're one to talk about coming here more than you say. Guess it makes sense that you come here more often than me, must be a bitch keeping your body up."

 _Elfman laughed heartily at that, shrugging as he also sat at the bench and leant against the wall of lockers to cool himself down. Laxus decided to do the same with his now bare back. He was going to have a quick shower before he left, but he didn't want to leave Elfman mid conversation so decided to stop preparing for it now; sitting in a towel or his boxers while talking would be weird. It might have also made 'straight-as-an-arrow' Elfman uncomfortable, he had only recently found out that Laxus was bi._

 _Did he have to start thinking about making guys uncomfortable now he was out? It wasn't like Elfman was a homophobe, or some asshole who would assume Laxus would be into him just because he liked guys. Honestly, Elfman probably wouldn't even notice if Laxus sat with his balls hanging loose, he was a good guy like that, but that didn't change anything. Laxus still wasn't going to remove any more of his clothes as they talked, if only because his arms were still aching like hell and he would welcome any break that was presented to him._

 _"So, who's the guy? I've seen him here a couple times, didn't know you knew him?" Laxus continued._

 _"A friend from school, kinda. He graduated last year with Mira, she was closer to him really." Elfman explained, Laxus glad to know he had graduated. He hadn't been creeping over an underaged guy, at least. "Didn't know he worked out here until a couple weeks ago, he's always here at this time and I can only work out after school hours most of the time, so I never saw him."_

 _"Sure." Laxus nodded. "Nice of you to help him out. Looks like he doesn't need it as much as I did."_

 _Elfman chuckled a little. Laxus could only assume the man was thinking back to their first meeting, Laxus still being a skinny and awkward teenager at that time. He certainly must have been a piece of work for Elfman, he hardly knew how to use any of the machines other than the treadmill and the standing bike. Looking back, Laxus had to cringe a little. He needed help from a fifteen-year-old and acted like a little child when the workout got a little too intense for him. The results of Elfman's persistence was worth it, however._

 _Laxus rested his head on the lockers, feeling his arms relax slightly. He watched as Elfman picked out a towel and removed his shirt. The white haired guy didn't seem at all bothered by Laxus looking at him, which made Laxus relax a little. So Elfman definitely wasn't going to treat him differently because he was bi, just like he expected._

 _"He's doing me a favour really." Elfman said as he rubbed his torso with a towel. "I'm graduating pretty soon and I ain't getting going to college, can't deal with the debt. So, I need to get a job and I wanna work here as a trainer. Talked to the manager about how to do it and he said I need a little experience, so I asked if I could get a kind of trial thing set up where I train a friend and have that as my experience."_

 _"So when you found out your friend worked out here, you asked him if he could help?" Laxus finished, Elfman nodding._

 _"Yeah. He's a good man. I only get to work with him at weekends until I graduate, though." Elfman said as he moved his hair from his eyes, it stuck to his sweating forehead. "Why the interest?"_

 _At the question, Laxus looked forward and into the empty shower cubicle at the other side of the locker room. He suspected that, even though Elfman was evidently fine with Laxus' sexuality, he doubted he would appreciate the knowledge that the blonde had been checking his friend out every time they'd been in the same room. Phrasing it like that made it sound so much worse that it actually was._

 _He had given a passive response, something sarcastic about how friends not being able to make casual conversation with other friends any more. The blonde had decided that it was better to brush off the topic than to address it, he wasn't in the mood to lie. And he wasn't great at it, either._

 _As he was looking so intently at the shower cubicle, he missed the expression of amusement on the other man's face, who pretty much knew exactly why Laxus was interested in his friend. The small glance as Laxus had left the gym combined with pretty obvious avoidance of the topic left the conclusion obvious. Elfman decided to let it linger for a few moments, removing his workout shorts and placing them with his shirt in his locker. After a while, he spoke again._

 _"You want his number, man?"_

 _Laxus' pupils dilated slightly as he looked towards Elfman. In response, he feigned innocence. "Why would I want his number?"_

 _"You think he's hot." Elfman replied without any tact. "He's a good guy, Laxus, he wont mind. You'd probably be pretty good together as well. I don't know if he likes guys or not, but there's no point in moping around and letting it stop you from asking him out."_

 _"I don't find him hot." Laxus replied, completely pointlessly. With a look from Elfman, he sighed. "Thanks, but no. If I'm gonna date someone, I ain't starting it with a crappy text or whatever."_

 _To his credit, Elfman didn't push the issue further and allowed Laxus to think. The blonde leant against the locker again, knowing it was the right decision not to take the number. Not only did he not want to start a romance over the phone, what could he say: 'Hey. I've been looking at you when you work out and think you're hot. I've got your number off a friend who I happen to know. Lets date.' It was just the worse possible way to approach the situation. He was appreciative of the offer, though._

 _Besides, he hardly knew the guy. They'd never spoken to each other; the guy probably didn't know he existed. All Laxus knew of his personality was that Elfman and Mirajane liked him and that he was pretty polite to servers; he'd seen that when he had been to the juice bar beside the Leg-Press Laxus was on. Granted, that was nothing bad and the Strauss family were picky with who they liked, but it wasn't enough to start a relationship on._

 _And, even though he wouldn't broadcast the fact, Laxus was a big believer in fate. Not just fate; he also believed in karma, luck and destiny. Not in a religious way, nor in a way that lead him to read horoscopes or buy gemstones because of their 'energies'. Simply put, he thought people got what they deserved in the end. And, if for some weird and coincidental reason, fate dictated he was meant to end up with the random guy from the gym then it would happen eventually. He just needed to wait for that time to happen._

 _"I appreciate it, though." Laxus continued, standing up. "I'm gonna hit the showers, can't sit here all day."_

 _Elfman nodded. Laxus stood up and began to remove his shorts and the thermal tights he wore under them. He rolled his eyes as he caught Elfman spraying himself with deodorant; the larger man refused to shower in the gym, he claimed that the pressure was too weak and the water was never warm enough. They were fair enough complaints and Laxus agreed with them, but to hear them come from a guy who always talked about manliness, it amused the blonde._

 _Once Laxus had removed all his clothes and tied a towel around his waist, he routed through his bag and picked out a small tub of shower-soap and shampoo. He walked to the cubicle and opened the door, going to walk in and close it before Elfman spoke up._

 _"I'll probably be gone by the time you're out. It was nice talking to you without a weight between us." Elfman said as he put his shirt on. "You'll be here Monday evening, right? Want me to spot for you again?"_

 _"Yeah. Thanks, appreciate it." Laxus nodded as he turned the water on and closed the door. "See ya, Elf."_

Leaning back against the cars seat with the air conditioning aimed directly at his face, he groaned loudly. He had hoped thinking back to the near-acquisition of the guy's number would help calm the situation, but it just made it more complicated.

The guy was defiantly Freed, that was impossible to deny. He looked like Freed, both in the description Freed had given him about how he looked when he was younger and in his face; he'd managed to maintain some pretty good cheekbones. And the fact he was a friend of the Strauss' but closer to Mirajane attributed to the idea it was Freed, they were about the same age and Mirajane had said that they were friends from school.

So, given Laxus was now sure the guy was Freed, that meant that Laxus had at least at one point found him attractive. More than that, he'd considered dating him or getting his number off Elfman. He hadn't just had a fleeting glance and found him good looking, he'd considered dating him.

"Shit." He groaned.

But that didn't mean he was into the guy now. Five years had passed since then and he was much more mature than before; at that point he would probably date anyone who smiled at him. And anyway, even when he was younger he'd concluded he didn't know enough about the guy to have an actual relationship with him. He'd gotten a stupid crush on a guy because he was polite to someone at a juice bar that managed to look relatively handsome as he worked out.

The same guy he was now working for, who shared a similar taste of music with him, who he'd eaten with twice and enjoyed the company both times. Hell, he had even complimented the man on keeping his damn cheekbones a moment ago.

It wasn't just his cheekbones that Laxus remembered from Freed, he'd also maintained the sense of elegance he had. Unintentionally, Laxus had been watching Freed as he moved and had concluded that he did everything with a sense of purpose. There was no waste of energy in the slightest inconsequential movement, just like when he was bench pressing. He was still polite to people as well, which was even more impressive now that Freed was wealthy enough to get away with being rude if he wanted. But, just like he had been polite to the guy at the juice bar, Freed had nodded to the doorman as he walked into the building.

"For fucks sake." He groaned to himself. "You spend like eight years in a job you hate. Finally get a good one and now you wanna get with the boss?"

Did he though? Just because his boss was good looking, and he had traits Laxus liked, it didn't mean he wanted to date the guy. Freed could just be a guy he worked with who was hot. Most of his friends were hot, in some way or another, and he wouldn't have been friends with them if they didn't have qualities he liked. Freed was just another person he knew that happened to be good looking, that was it.

It was hard to just to accept that, though. Freed wasn't the same as everyone else. Laxus had never had such a confusing internal disagreement about the feelings for his other friends. He'd never thought about fate bringing him and a friend back together again.

Which, with another groan, made him realise fate had indeed brought them together again.

Eventually, he decided he needed to stop worrying about it. With the amount of internalised debate, it was clear that he knew nothing about his real feelings towards the situation. He knew nothing about his feelings of Freed. So, like he had five years prior, he decided that he wouldn't let that bother him and he would instead leave what he didn't know up to fate.

He did know one thing, though. When his shift ended, he needed a massive fucking drink.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Afternoon Drinks

**Hey. I'm managing to keep regular updates up over my exams, which is good. And I think that this chapter is my favourite so far, so I really hope you enjoy it. Also, I feel compelled to say this as there's gambling in this chapter: please don't gamble. This is a very glamourized version of gambling that I suspect is impossible in real life. Just don't do it :)**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine – The Afternoon Drinks**

Laxus' shoulders jumped a little when the passenger side door to the car opened, Freed soon climbing in beside him. After he had come to the conclusion that worrying about his mess of feelings in relation to Freed was senseless, Laxus had cranked the music up to an obnoxious volume – nobody was around to complain, to his knowledge at least – and he was mindlessly playing some stupid game on his phone. Therefore, Freed's approach had gone unnoticed and his entrance to the car had slightly startled Laxus. And by the small smirk on his face when he climbed into the car, Freed had noticed this.

Trying not to let the teasing expression bother him, Laxus instead looked at the briefcase Freed had placed beside his leg. When he had left the car with it to see to his client, Laxus had assumed it contained the money he was willing to gamble and perhaps a set of cards or some chips. The blonde had to wonder if the money in there had grown or shrunk. But he couldn't tell just by looking at the briefcase, and it wasn't like he was going to ask.

Freed must have noticed the less than subtle glance at the briefcase. He chuckled, again electing a slight flinch from Laxus. Deciding to let his stoic expression slip, he turned to Laxus with a patient smile on his face.

"I'm sorry for the wait, it took a little longer than I predicted." He said, Laxus looking towards him. "But I suppose it was worthwhile, I made a fair amount of profit."

"That's good." Laxus nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, how much is a 'fair amount of profit' to you?"

"I don't mind at all." Freed smiled a little, noticing Laxus was more cagey about money than he was. He'd have to take note of that. "It's entirely dependent on who I'm playing. Each of my clients have different ways they gamble, how they give up their money and when they stop. So, what is considered good with one client can be a disappointment with another. As my client today is an arrogant moron with no sense of monetary value, a fair amount of profit is going in with five grand to lose and leaving with twenty-six grand that I didn't have before."

Laxus paused at that, glancing towards the briefcase. He ignored the continued look of amusement on Freed's face as he processed the information. Laxus hadn't exactly been raised in a wealthy place, and money wasn't really spoke about openly, so to have a discussion about such a large amount of money so casually acted as a small culture shock.

He supposed that he would have to get used to it. From what he'd seen of Freed, he wasn't arrogant, but he wasn't exactly coy about his financial state; during the 'job interview', Freed could have been seen as bragging about the money he had. Besides, working for Freed was going to mean he had to get used to driving an expensive car with a lot of money inside of it. That was just going to be part of his life now and he would have to acclimatise to it soon. Even still, it was intimidating to think about.

"So there's twenty-six-thousand dollars in the car? Right now?"

"Technically, its thirty-one-thousands, including the money I brought myself." Freed chuckled again. "And I should make it clear, this isn't the norm. My client today is one of my largest earners, his arrogance gets the better of him. With most of my other clients, I only leave with about five grand or so."

"Right, 'cause getting that much from a days work is totally normal." Laxus joked slightly, Freed smiling in retort. "You got anything else you wanna do or should I leave?"

"We should go. I'm sure that you're bored of sitting in here."

Nodding, Laxus switched on the engine and turned the volume of the music down to a more tolerable level. He slowly pulled out of the parking lot and into the main road, turning back on the road that had lead him there. He didn't see the need to use the GPS, he had a pretty good memory for roads, stemming from the fact the routes of his previous job seemed to change every other damn week.

As they drove back, they focused mainly on the music. Laxus had investigated further into the musician who Freed had recommended to him – he had found out the guy's name, or at least his online name, was Bickslow – and he was playing a track of his. Freed really did have a good taste in music.

Laxus was absently tapping his fingers along to the tune of the song as they waited at a junction, Freed watching him with idle curiosity. He had recognised the song as Bickslow's the moment it had begun, his friend always started his songs with a few similar beats that were changed to fit with the tempo and theme of each song. It made him feel a little proud that he could find something his driver had enjoyed. He would much rather have a friendly relationship with his new employee than acting like a self-obsessed rich guy. He was surrounded by them all the time in his work and found them intolerable, he wasn't going to become the same thing.

With this in mind, he thought back to earlier in the day. Laxus had acted with a slightly different manner when he had been driving towards his client's building compared to their previous encounters. The idea they went to the same gym and could had possibly been there at the same time had caused Freed to pause for a moment, but Laxus had all but switched personalities in an instant. It was somewhat concerning.

"Were you okay this morning?" He asked after a few moments of contemplation. "You seemed to clam up as you started to drive."

Laxus glanced towards him, not entirely sure where that topic had come from. He hadn't been sure if Freed had noticed his change in mood earlier that day; he had been hoping he hadn't, wanting to avoid this very conversation. With the blonde's uncertainty about his feelings for Freed, which has caused the shift in mood, he decided it would be best to just pass it off.

"Sorry. Just a little nervous, that's all." He said as he turned a corner. "And had to focus on the roads. Wouldn't look good if I crashed into someone on the first day."

"I suppose it wouldn't." Freed chuckled.

The gambler felt that this wasn't entirely the truth. It was true that Laxus had been incredibly vigilant as he drove, but he seemed a lot more relaxed now. Given that it was still his first day and the chance of him crashing into anyone was the same, it didn't take much to realise he wasn't fully explaining his actions. Perhaps his nervousness stemmed from not being comfortable around Freed but he just didn't want to say anything. It made sense, Freed could assume having to work for and spend time in a car with a stranger every day could be uncomfortable.

"Well, as a celebration of you not leaving the car in a total wreck, would you like to come to Mirajane's bar with me?" Freed asked, deciding he wanted to stop the uncomfortable atmosphere before it could appear.

"Really?" Laxus said, glancing towards Freed again. "I was actually gonna get a drink once I finished. It'd be nice to have a little company, instead of looking like a lonely ass drunk. So that'd be good, thanks. You want me to drive right to it or leave the car at the garage and we can walk. I don't think I'll be in a state to drive it back, so if we go straight there we'll have to leave the car for the night. Unless you ain't drinking, of course."

"I don't mind leaving it overnight. I've done it a few times and Mirajane lives above the bar, I'm sure she'll be able to look after it."

With a nod, Laxus slightly re-evaluated the route he was taking so that he would end up near Mira's bar. Despite the fact he originally was going to the bar to get his mind off of Freed, the idea of going for a drink with him sounded pleasant. As he'd previously concluded, Freed was a pretty good guy and would probably be a good drinking partner.

Perhaps it would be a little weird to go for a drink with the boss at the end of his first day, and he would have to make sure he didn't make a total drunk ass out of himself, but he didn't think that was too bad. In fact, he found himself looking forward to it. Other than their initial meeting, which was still a spotty memory to him, he hadn't seen Freed in a casual setting that didn't involve his job in some way. It would be interesting to see what he was like when he really was actually relaxed and not thinking about work.

The drive towards the bar was shorter than it would have been to get to Freed's garage. Laxus had made sure to park under a street light, also in view of a tech-store's exterior security camera; Mirajane's bar was an upmarket place, but the location wasn't exactly reflective of this.

They entered the bar together, Freed having taken the briefcase with him; he must have known about the area's reputation as well. The bar was practically empty, other that a couple in the corner booth eating some food and a drunk businessman nursing what Laxus recognised as some gin. Laxus hadn't expected it to be too busy, given that it had only just passed noon.

Mirajane was standing beside the bar, idly chatting to a tipsy Cana who was nibbling at a bowl filled with mini-pretzels; Laxus had to roll his eyes at the fact she was nearly drunk that early in the day. The bartender looked up when she heard the door open and the two men approach her, smiling.

"Hi you two." She beamed, Cana looking towards them as she did. "Oh, it was your first day right? How did it go?"

The bartender had practically been over the moon to hear that Laxus and Freed were going to work together. Not only was she sure that having a new job would do wonders for Laxus, both financially and for his mental wellbeing, but she also hoped they'd start to get along. Laxus wasn't the most social person, limiting his friendships to a chosen few, so Mirajane was hoping that their work relationship could evolve to that of at least a casual friendship. And, if she was being completely honest, she hoped that she would see more of Freed if the two became friendly. She rarely got to see him anymore; it was a shame.

But she couldn't get ahead of herself. Right now, two of her friends were at the bar at the same time, hanging out, and that was enough. She hid her excitement at what that may lead to behind a small smile as she walked towards the stools they'd chosen to sit at.

"Went well, I think." Laxus said, glancing towards Freed. "Nobody died, car's in one piece and I don't end the day smelling like rotting food and crap like I did before."

"You have very high standards of work satisfaction." His boss smirked. "I'm not sure if I can keep that up, Laxus."

The blonde chuckled a little at what could possibly be teasing from his boss, glad that Freed could indeed drop the 'boss persona' when he wanted to. Not that his boss personal was all that bad, but it was nice to see what he assumed was the real Freed.

Mirajane hid her smile a little again as she reached for two glasses. She expected that the two would be having the same drinks as normal, so brought the needed bottles down from the large expanse of alcohol that made up the back wall. After they'd both looked towards her and made no actions to stop her, she poured the drinks and slid them towards them both. Laxus reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to get his wallet, but Freed spoke up.

"I can pay for tonight, if you want." He offered, Laxus glancing towards him. "I know you said you wanted to come anyway, but I did offer. It should probably be my treat."

"You don't need to do that. I'm happy to pay my own way." Laxus insisted, pulling his wallet out from his pocket.

"I don't mind. It's not exactly going to set me back."

"I said I'm fine." Laxus spoke with perhaps more force than needed, feeling almost patronised by Freed's words. He knew Freed hadn't intended for that, and it was more Laxus' pride being the issue, but it felt like that non the less. "Just let me pay for myself, okay."

"I'm just going to make a tab for you both." Mirajane said after a moments silence. "Here's your drinks. Enjoy."

The sound of the two alcohol filled glasses being slid across the bar felt louder than they were. The only sound came from the couple in the back of the room who were idly chatting to each other over their lunch and the music playing quietly by the radio Mira chose to listen to. A sense of awkwardness had formed between the two men, who were both cradling their respective drinks and refusing to look at each other.

Mira sighed a little and glanced at Cana, who rolled her eyes. Cana didn't know Freed as well as she knew Laxus, but she knew enough about them both to know they were prideful men. And, with her fairly extensive knowledge of prideful men from viewing Laxus for a few years, she knew that the awkwardness would linger.

"Okay, no." She spoke up, getting the attention of both men and her girlfriend. "If you two are gonna be friendly out of work, then this ain't allowed to happen. Definitely not when I'm drinking, 'cause you'll ruin the mood and I'm not having that. So you ain't allowed to get awkward, you ain't allowed to talk about work unless you really need to, and you ain't allowed to be weird. Every time you do and I'm around, both of you take one shot for everyone you've made awkward. That'll make everything better and it'll stop you from doing it again. We'll call it the Alberona-Tax."

"You're conditioning us?" Laxus muttered. "You think we're dogs or something?"

"Yep." Cana grinned, turning to Mirajane with a satisfied grin. "Three shots each, then. And make 'em Jägermeister's, so they really feel the burn."

"Why is it three?" Laxus groaned as Mirajane took out six shot glasses and large bottle of Jägermeister; he could barely keep that shit down. "There's only the two of you here."

"No. Its me, Mira and drunk guy who got laid off today." The guy looked up at Cana with a drunken glare, obviously not happy that his troubles had been documented to everyone in the bar; even the couple in the corner had looked up. Cana just grinned wide and looked towards the two men again as the drunk looked down at his lap. "See, look at him. he's super awkward right now."

"Because you mentioned his private business to everyone." Freed frowned a little, looking at the shorts before him.

"Which I wouldn't have had to do if you two didn't get awkward in the first place. So, its your fault. So drink." She smirked as Mirajane finished pouring the final shot. "And do it at the same time, make it a kind of bonding experience."

Laxus and Freed were both looking at the shots before them. They then glanced at each other, the layer of tension already dissipated slightly by Cana's interruption. With a small shrug from Laxus and a raised eyebrow from Freed, they both reached for their first shot. Neither were day drinkers, and the idea of taking shots was something both men associated with their younger years, so they brought them to their lips with a small amount of hesitance. Cana supplied a helpful three second countdown to give them the final push to swallow the alcohol.

They both complied to the woman's demand. Tipping their heads back with a shocking sense of symmetry, they drained the glasses of their alcohol. They both winced as the strong alcohol hit their throats with a nasty burning sensation. Even Freed had to drop his façade as the alcohol hit in, clenching his eyes shut for a few seconds.

After taking a few seconds to recover, Laxus heard Cana laughing loudly at them both and Mirajane was even giggling to herself. The blonde looked to her with a sour expression on his face, obviously not sharing the sense of amusement. That only made the women laugh further.

"There was a time where you were nicer than this." He muttered. "She's a bad influence on you."

"You should have seen her in high school." Freed chuckled a little. "She was unrecognisable, practically tormented some of the younger kids."

"Really?" Laxus grinned a little at the idea. "What she do? Throw her purse at them?"

"No, she wouldn't have been seen dead with a purse. She went full punk in her early teens." Freed smiled, reaching for his phone. "I've got a picture of her, I think. I could show you just how bad it was."

"Or." Mirajane smiled, speaking in a voice so sweet it was vicious. "You can do the other shots before I drag people off the streets and make them feel awkward until the two of you are totally wasted, forget all about it and start to make total ass's out of yourselves which I can use to blackmail you both."

Both men laughed at the threat and looked towards the two remaining shots in front of them both. With another shared glance, they decided that Mirajane might indeed carry out her threat and neither wanted that, so they picked up the next shot and brought it to their lips. Again, with synchronicity, they threw the shots back and drained the glasses.

The alcohol was starting to take affect on them both. Freed had to keep his eyes closed to get used to the sensation, feeling his inhibitions sway and his façade crumble further. Laxus was starting to see a small blur as he moved, his head already aching slightly as they reached for their final shots and took them.

Laxus let out a loud groan, leaning on his arm and looking at the glass of rum that he had intended to drink. It seemed less appealing after downing the three shots of cheap alcohol. Instead, he shifted his gaze towards Freed as he pushed his shot glasses back. He waited a few moments, watching as Freed fiddled with his glass and decided that he too would wait a little while before he drunk his original drink. Laxus spoke up after that.

"I didn't mean to snap. It was a nice offer, I just ain't good and taking people money for nothing." He apologised. "Kinda raised with the mindset a man should look after himself. Need to shake it off, really."

"No, I shouldn't have pushed it. My apologies."

"I could have reacted better though. So I guess call it even?" Laxus offered, Freed nodding. With that settled, he spoke up again. "Was Mira really a badass?"

"I can imagine she still is. That's probably why she hasn't hired a bouncer, she can handle anyone herself."

Freed chuckled a little as he reached for his phone again, fiddling a little as he unlocked it. Despite getting a half-hearted glare from Mirajane, he pulled up a picture containing the bartender that had been taken eight years prior. It contained Mirajane, who looked almost completely different and, as Freed had described, was dressed exactly like a punk. It also contained a younger Elfman, who looked a little more bashful and innocent compared to what Laxus knew, and a young girl who Laxus could assume was a pre-pubescent Lisanna Strauss. But, after the amusement of seeing a punk, teenager Mirajane, the forth and final figure of the picture caught the blonde's eye.

A teenage boy with hair a weird brown and green mix, smiling softly and with barely forming cheekbones. It was Freed, perhaps fifteen years old. Laxus couldn't help but let his mid flicker back to the memories of the gym, but he quickly pushed them back. He couldn't have this dilemma again, not while mildly drunk with Freed right beside him.

Too engrossed in the picture, Laxus missed Mirajane looking at it with a shockingly soft expression. She patted Freed on the shoulder and smiled at him gently, something that he returned.

"I didn't know you kept that picture. We must have taken it like eight years ago." She said quietly.

"Of course I did." Freed smiled. "For all I knew, that could have been the last time I saw the three of you."

Laxus looked up at that, seeing Freed pat Mirajane's hand in a comforting gesture. The blonde glanced towards Cana, who shrugged at this action. He decided to let them have their moments, whatever that moment actually was, and instead leant over and picked up a couple of the pretzels from the bowl. He stuffed them into his mouth, glad that they had a slight affect on the taste of the cheap alcohol.

After a while, the foursome fell into a comfortable pseudo-silence. Mirajane had begun to wash the shot glasses and was talking to Cana, who was drinking her near empty bottle of beer; Freed had returned his phone to his pocket and taken a tentative sip of his scotch, before deciding that he wasn't yet ready and he should probably get a glass of water; and Laxus was slowly eating the pretzels and letting his mind wonder through the drunken thoughts that usually accompanied a few shots. After moments of silence, Laxus spoke again.

"So, I still don't get it." His voice was louder than he expected. "You make a load of money off of gambling, and you barely ever lose. But nobodies that good at gambling, so do you like cheat or something?"

"No, I don't know how to cheat." Freed chuckled when Laxus scoffed. "What was that noise for? I genuinely don't know how. I thought that, with the effort it takes to know how to scam people, I might as well use that time to get very good at cards, so I can get the same amount of money without people being justified in wanting it back because I did cheat."

"So you're an unbeatable god of poker then?" Laxus grinned.

"I'm more known as the devil. But that's a name given by people who've lost considerable amounts of money to me, so they might have some bias."

Laxus laughed a little, picking up his glass of rum and tossing a little down his throat. It was a considerable improvement to the Jägermeister that he had been forced into drinking, but as the taste of the previous drink still remained, he felt no need to continue it yet. Instead, he looked back to Freed with a small, cocky smirk on his face.

"Play me." Laxus challenged. "If you're so good, have a game with me. So I know you ain't bullshitting me."

"Laxus, today alone I won the equivalent of someone's yearly income." Freed chuckled, ignoring the glances at his briefcase from Cana and Mirajane. "And you're drunk. Do you really think its wise to put your money up against me?"

"Now you're just being cocky." Laxus smirked. "And being drunk is gonna help me. You're used to dealing with people who are focusing on hiding their tells, right. People you know. I bet you don't have a damn clue how to deal with a drunk guy you've never played with who doesn't even know what their tell is, let alone know how to stop it. Maybe you're scared that you're not as good as you think you are."

"All now you've told me is you've no idea how obvious you are when you lie. If we did gamble, I would play to win and show no mercy." Freed smirked, also a little arrogant now. "Don't let me take your money from you."

"You're not actually allowed gamble for money in here." Mirajane interrupted, having been listening to them both. "We need a license to let that happen, which we don't have."

As Freed nodded, planning to leave the idea of gambling with his employee behind him, Laxus grinned. He had an idea that was perhaps a little misguided and influenced by the booze in his system, but something that would be perfect. It would let him test out Freed to see just how good of a gambler he actually was, it wouldn't get Mirajane in trouble because it wasn't technically gambling with money and it settled the earlier dispute that had lead to the supposed 'Alberona-Tax' and the shots that followed.

"Why don't we play for the tab." He suggested. "Play like three hands. Whoever loses all together has to pay for both tabs by the end of the night. If I win, it won't be like taking a handout because I won it. If I lose, you get free booze but don't have to feel bad about it 'cause you gave me loads of warning. And it won't get Mira in trouble, right?"

"No, I think that's fine." Mirajane smiled. "As long as there's never any actual money on the table it's okay."

"So, what d'you say?" Laxus grinned. "Is the big demon guy a coward?"

Needless to say, pride got the better of the two men and they were soon sitting in one of the booths of the bar, looking at each other. Freed had opened the briefcase and pulled out a card; Laxus also got a good look at the stacks of money inside of it. Freed was soon shuffling the cards, under the watchful, if not a little hazy, eyes of Laxus. Five cards were dealt to each man and the rest of the deck placed in between them. As they looked at their cards, Freed pulled out a pile of chips. They were simply symbolic, a way to raise hypothetical stakes so they could test each other's bluffing skills. The were given the same amount each and began to play.

The first round, Freed had made sure to look directly at Laxus' face. He didn't have the same observational ability as he did when sober, but he was less drunk than Laxus and that gave him an advantage. The blonde's tell was obvious once he spotted it, so it was easy to push Laxus to the point where he had to fold and lose the round.

The second was more interesting. Freed assumed that Laxus had realised his tell and hidden it – it was something his clients did often, some going so far to fake a tell to trap him in a later round – and guessed the blonde was still bluffing. So, even with an average hand, he decided he would try and push the man until he folded and gave up. Eventually, they had both run out of chips and had to show their hands. Laxus had, somehow, ended up with a straight-flush, which was considerably higher in the rankings compared to Freed's three-of-a-kind. Freed then concluded that Laxus hadn't hidden his tell, he simply had nothing to lie about as he knew his hand was good.

This, however, made the third round easy. Laxus' tell was just as obvious as before, and Freed exploited that fact. It didn't take long to get Laxus to fold, showing a frankly pitiful two-pair that Freed's full hand destroyed.

"Dammit." Laxus chuckled, leaning back in the booth and grinning. "Guess you are just as good as you say. But I want it to be known I did beat you once."

"I'm sure I won't forget." Freed grinned. "But you still lost the wager, didn't you?"

"Guess I did. I'll go pay." Laxus sighed, standing up and reaching for his wallet. Freed placed a hand on the other mans arm, making him turn and look. "What's up?"

"I believe that we agreed the loser would pays for both tabs at the end of the night. Its barely mid-afternoon." Freed taunted with a grin. "I did warn you that I show no mercy when it comes to gambling. And, as your boss, I know exactly how much I can afford to extort out of you before it starts to become unfair. So, to put it bluntly, we'll be here for a long time. And, with that in mind, I think we should celebrate your first day of working with me, as it was such a success. Perhaps with a bottle of champagne, the most expensive they have." Freed's grin turned to a small, but evident smirk. "I'm feeling generous. Put it on my tab."

Laxus had to laugh. As he walked towards the bar to order the champagne that would end up taking a chunk out of his savings, he came to the conclusion there was no need to worry about his feelings for Freed. He was a good guy, he could have fun with him and had given him a job. There wasn't much more you could ask from a friend.

Besides, if he did end up having feelings for Freed at one point or another, he would deal with it when they came. Maybe he'd end up with him, maybe he'd have to move on. But for now, he was going to enjoy drinking overprices alcohol with the guy from the gym, without worrying about the implications of this actions. And, for perhaps the first time since he had come to the revelation earlier that day, he believed his own words.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Reunion

**Hey all. I managed to get through my exams and keep to my bi-weekly schedule, which I'm quite happy about. Just need to do my driving test and I'm fine for some time, so I should be able to keep up with the schedule without trouble, and maybe have some bonus updates if I have the time. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It's set a few months after the last one, I hope you don't mind too much, I didn't want to drag out the awkward bonding for longer than needed.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten – The Reunion**

Clicking his tongue gently against the sides of his mouth, Laxus leant forward as he waited for an opening in the late evening traffic. Magnolia was illuminated by an armada of streetlights and neon advertisements, stars shining down from above in the cloudless sky. Laxus hardly ever drove in the evening, he usually didn't have any reason to leave his apartment at such a time, so he always enjoyed it when the opportunity arose.

The reason for his late-night driving was that Freed had been invited by one of his clients for an impromptu high stakes game and had asked Laxus if he was available to drive him. The client had apparently been forced to reschedule an overseas business trip for whatever reason, meaning Freed had been forced to rush forward their meeting to that night; apparently this client was another of Freed's highest earners and would only agree to gamble once or twice a year, therefore Freed needed to act fast before losing the opportunity entirely.

Laxus had been somewhat shocked when he got the call. At that point, he had been working for Freed for over a month and, until then, Freed had given him at least a days' notice every time he required Laxus' services. It was something Laxus had appreciated as it allowed for a certain level of predictability in his day to day life, but the sudden call wasn't all that unwelcome. If nothing else, it would mean he could get some more money at the end of the month, and he wasn't all that busy anyway.

Throughout the time of Laxus' employment with Freed, the two men had started to get closer than the typical boss and employee dynamic that Laxus had expected. Their initial trip to Mirajane's bar had become a semi-regular thing, with the two of them spending an evening there together once a week, as long as they both had the time. A friendship had begun to form between the men and the tension of their earlier kinship had dissipated somewhat. That was in no doubt attributable to Cana, who had insisted on making the men take shots every time something awkward or uncomfortable between them occurred.

The cheap booze and regrettable hangovers had made both men learn what the limits of conversation were and what topics weren't to be approached. Cana may have been obnoxious, but her help was undeniable.

And, as much as Laxus felt himself confused by this, he enjoyed having Freed as a friend. He was significantly calmer than the majority of the people that Laxus knew, which he appreciated as the idea of working with someone like Cana was a thought too terrible to entertain. But with Freed, they could find pleasure in silence but could hold a conversation with ease. The friendship was, rather shockingly, easy.

On occasion, Laxus found his mind wondering back to the possibility of him having an attraction to his boss. Over the time, he had managed to sort his thoughts out better than in the blind panic of a single day. He'd come to the conclusion that he could no longer deny Freed was a handsome man. He also realised that he didn't need a relationship and had no romantic feelings for Freed, so undergoing a pointless inner conflict was childish and unneeded; Freed was a good boss and becoming a good friend, there was no reason to complicate things by panicking over feelings that had yet to occur. And, if any feelings did occur at any point, he would deal with them at that time and no sooner.

"Again, I'm sorry for it dragging on for so long." Freed spoke up from the passenger seat. "He's usually less stubborn than that and gives up quicker."

"Don't mind." Laxus nodded slightly. "At least I got to sit in and watch instead of being in the car. It was kinda fun. You really don't hold back, huh?"

Watching Freed gamble had been a shock to say the least. When entering the client's office, pleasantries had been exchanged and drinks poured. The two men had chatted as if old friends, something Laxus assumed did purely for politeness as there was an underlying sense of tension with every word. After a minute or so of this pseudo-friendship, they walked to the man's desk and begun playing. And, as they played, Laxus was given a front row seat as to why Freed was referred to as a demon when he gambled.

His actions were quick and harsh, as if he had planned ten steps ahead of the opponent. He spoke no more than absolutely needed, his voice taking on a harshness that Laxus had yet to hear from his new boss. But Freed's eyes were what Laxus was most interested in, they were emotionless and slightly narrowed with an antagonistic darkness in them. Even his body language had a layer of cockiness that Laxus had certainly not expected. Watching Freed, Laxus knew this was a man in his element and had complete control of the room.

It was quite a sight to behold. And Laxus felt himself oddly enthralled by it.

The night had continued on, with both men saying barely anything to each other as money exchanged hands. It hadn't been as one sided as Laxus had expected, with a few moments looking as if Freed was going to make an overall loss. But his boss was never unwavering or unconfident, and the end result proved hi methods worked well. The blonde had to hold his tongue in shock as the eye wateringly large amount of money was placed in Freed's briefcase.

"With him, no. He's wealthy enough to take losses like that." Freed continued, smiling a little. "With the less financially-stable clients, I'm more lenient. As long as they don't annoy me, of course."

"Makes sense." Laxus chuckled, knowing that he would be the same if he were in Freed's situation. "Were you always like that? Like, smart with how much you take from people and who you get a lot from."

"At the start I wasn't. I never intended for it to be my main source of income." Freed shifted in his chair slightly, so his body was angled towards Laxus. "Originally, I gambled for fun and whatever money I could get, so I washed anyone out that would play with me. When I realised I could live off my winnings if I was smart, I reassessed my playstyle. I needed regular clients, so I needed to make sure they were never too demoralised by their losses."

"Ever had anyone refuse to play you?" Laxus asked, curiosity peaked.

"One or two, yes. Mainly in the early days when I hadn't quite got the balance right. Occasionally, people gets close to leaving me now." Freed chuckled a little. "But I know how to change that. Let them win once or twice in a row and they're just as egocentric as before."

Laxus chuckled a little, trying to imagine the merciless version of Freed he had seen that night purposefully losing, having to deal with a gloating rich person who was unaware that their victory was part of a manipulation. He could also imagine that, if Freed took gambling as seriously as everything seemed to suggest, he wouldn't be all too happy with having any loss. Even if it was on his own terms.

The way Freed spoke also interested Laxus. It truly did seem like he had gambling down to a fine art, that he had his clients in the palm of his hands and knew exactly what was needed to maximise his profits. Somewhat of a contrast to the blonde, who was rolling with whatever life dealt him.

"You're acting like it's a business." Laxus commented quickly, blocking that train of thoughts before it came. "Guess it kind of is, in a way."

"I've always tried to make it seem that way. It's why I refer to them as clients, it gives it a more formal edge to what I do." Freed smirked a little, interpreting Laxus' words as some form of praise. "I like to make them think that the meetings are more than just a night gambling. It makes them feel more inclined to continue."

"That why you make 'em sign contracts and stuff?"

It had been a shock to see the client fully prepared to sign what looked like a contract, something Laxus assumed Freed had written himself. At the end of the night, the client had also signed another piece of paper that resembled a receipt. The blonde hadn't mentioned anything, but had found himself wondering exactly what the point was.

"Partly. Mainly its for safety." At Freed's words, Laxus raised an eyebrow. "I make a lot of money from these sessions, I'm always in danger of becoming cash rich with large, sudden amounts of money. The contract allows me to prove I haven't gained any money illegally. The receipts show I pay the correct amount of tax. They're just there so I can have a financial safety net, on the occasion I'm investigated for whatever reason."

"You're a smart man, Freed." Laxus grinned a little. "Why you hired me, right?"

"I suppose that's true. I do make it a rule that I make smart decisions." Freed's smirk was obvious. "And every rule needs an exception, right?"

Laxus barked out a short laugh. This was another side of Freed that the man had revealed that Laxus was growing fond of. He had quite the sharp wit and, even if Laxus sometimes found himself at the knife-edge of this wit, Laxus was just glad to see it. In reflection, the polite but restrained Freed that he originally met was a contrast to the Freed he saw after a few months of knowing him. Even if the change was subtle, Laxus was glad of it. The blonde much preferred the snarky Freed he could joke around with.

As the blonde brought his attention back to the road, he watched as Freed switched the stereo in the car on and played whatever playlist he wanted to listen to. It had been revealed that both men had a shared taste in music: mainly being that they didn't have a specific genre they liked but were willing to give almost anything a chance. The first song of Freed's playlist was, that time, an instrumental electro-jazz piece. Laxus made a note to get the artist's name.

Stopping at some traffic lights, Laxus chuckled as he looked to the left. Some drunk college kids were staggering down the road, a sober looking woman steadying a stumbling man. He sometimes wondered if he had missed out on much by not going to college, he also wondered if Freed felt the same way.

Glancing towards the man, he saw Freed wasn't looking anywhere near the drunken idiots. Whether or not it was because he felt he had been short-changed by his lack of college experience, Freed was looking down at his phone. Perhaps he did have some regrets about not being able to go to college, he seemed like he could be an extremely intelligent man given the right environment. Well, he was obviously intelligent already to have managed to make a business out of gambling, but he probably would have been like a college professor or something if things were different. Maybe he would take a course or something eventually, he probably had the money and time to enrol.

The loud sound of a horn blaring behind him snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced up quickly to the green traffic light and quickly sped off down the road, half tempted to make a 'polite' gesture to the car behind him to tell him to be patient. Instead, as he glanced around, he saw an amused expression on Freed's face.

"Lost in thought?"

"Tired." Laxus lied. "Long day I guess. Morning workout."

Freed waited a moment before speaking again. "You're getting better. At lying, I mean. I almost believed it, the detail was good."

"Saw through it, huh?" Laxus grinned. "What gave it away?"

"You have the loudest yawn in the city, Laxus. You could be tired half a block away and I'd hear it. A lie is more than the statement." Freed smirked. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious."

"I don't mind." Laxus continued as he turned a corner. "Seeing those kids, always makes me think about what it would have been like in college. I mean I know it wouldn't be anything like those crappy movies and TV shows, probably just a lot of work and stress, but I kinda feel like I've missed out on it, you know?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Although it's nice not having such a large debt hanging over me." Freed said, looking up from his phone. "Why didn't you go?"

"Loads of things, I guess." Laxus sighed. "Don't want the debt, I guess. And I didn't wanna have to make gramps support me when I ain't even living with him, 'cause I know I wasn't gonna be able to manage money when I was eighteen. And, honestly, I was a bit of a dick when I was a kid. Rebellious, what the school always called me. Second I was outta school, refused to think about going someplace else to learn in. Still, doin' alright for myself now so I shouldn't complain."

Freed nodded, and Laxus had to wonder why Freed hadn't gone to college. But he didn't ask, Freed was still his boss and, although he considered them to be friends, he didn't expect invading his personal life like that would be all too acceptable. Instead, he focused on the music.

As always, it wasn't long before a song by their shared favoured composer came on. Bickslow's music was always found in Freed's playlists; Freed brought all of his friend's music to support him and, as Bickslow seemed to change the genre he made on a bi-weekly basis, there was always something of his in Freed's playlists. Laxus didn't mind, there was a certain soul aspect to his work that Laxus appreciated. He wondered if he could ever meet with the composer, partly because he wanted to compliment him in person rather than in a YouTube comment system, and partly because Freed had painted him as eccentric to say the least; Laxus wanted to see how much of Freed's words were an exaggerations.

Fingers tapping against the leather of the wheel, Laxus saw Freed's garage building approach. It wasn't too far away from Laxus' apartment, a couple of blocks which would only take twenty minutes to get to if he walked at a brisk pace. The evening walk would be pleasant and his bed was starting to call, so he was glad he would soon be out of the car.

Even if, when he got home, he would be greeted by an empty apartment.

Soon enough, the gates to the garage were slowly opening and Laxus drove into the building. The lights flickered on as he drove and pulled into Freed's designated parking area. The car's engine stopped and both men slowly climbed out, Laxus leaning on the roof of the vehicle and looking at Freed.

"Your next appointment's on Wednesday, right?" He asked after checking the diary app on his phone.

"Yes. Although, I'd appreciate it if you could get the car cleaned sometime before that." Freed groaned at the reminder of his appointment. "Karen is intolerable, even the smallest spec of dirt on the car and she'll refer to me as a pig throughout the day. It's how she works, tries to insult and demoralise you until you make a mistake."

"She sounds pleasant."

"As pleasant as standing on wasp's sting." Freed chuckled. "It's worth it, though. She's as blindly cocky as the rest, so she makes enough mistakes to wipe the grin off her face."

"You know, with the whole taking money from the rich and green motif thing you've got going on, you're pretty close to robin hood." Laxus grinned. "Give some money to the poor and wear tights, you're basically there."

"How do you know I don't?" Freed matched the grin.

"Really?" Laxus chuckled. "Wait, the tights or charity?"

"I'll leave that up to your imagination." Freed laughed slightly. "See you next week, Laxus."

"See ya, Freed." Laxus chuckled.

The blonde watched as Freed walked down the illuminated road towards the gates of the building, Laxus locking the garage and walking to vending machine to get himself a cup of sub-par hot chocolate. Freed soon was out of sight and Laxus was nursing a steaming paper cup, walking down the road and towards his apartment building.

His mind began to wonder as he walked, and a smile began to form. Over the short time he had been working with Freed, he began to feel just a little happier about his life. He could have conversations with his grandfather without the worry of money causing an issue, he no longer had to wake up early in the morning to do a job he hated, and he was starting to become more social. And not just with Freed, his trips to Mira's bar were more of a chance to talk with his friends than they were to drink his time away, and he had to say he was enjoying it more than he expected. Alberona-Tax excluded, of course.

He wasn't the type to walk with a spring in his step, but the small smile on his face was enough for anyone who knew Laxus to tell he was in a good mood. He even chose to forego his headphones, which he usually wore when walking as to make sure any passer by knew he was not to be approached.

At that moment, he felt oddly content.

Which of course meant, from a karmic standpoint, the scales of fate were tipped slightly too far in his favour. But life was more than willing to fix that and return him to his perpetual state of mediocrity. Something which proved true when he turned the corner to his apartment building and saw something that caused the blonde man to stop where he stood and double take, gulping almost audibly.

Before him was a woman. Middle aged, blonde hair falling low below her shoulders and face covered in the wrinkles of a forty year old; forty-nine, to be exact. Her clothes were extravagant for the area, a long trench coat with fur covering the collar and leather boots hiding her legs. Her sharp posture and oddly vibrant hair were distinctive enough to classify her as recognisable, specifically to those who were regular viewers of the Fiore News Network. To them, she was the European foreign correspondent known as Sophia.

Laxus walked forward, the soft sound of his boots against the pavement seemingly deafening now as he approached the woman. As she turned, Laxus was presented with full access to the face of a woman he wished never to see. A woman who most knew as Sophia, but he knew by a much more personal term.

"Mom?"


	11. Chapter 11 - The Aftermath

**Hey all. Are you all ready for a little angst, some boss and employee bonding and the longest chapter I've written so far. This might have been my favourite part of the story this far in, so I hope you all like it as much as I liked writing it. And I hope you all enjoy my version of Laxus' mother, she's a little different to what I think most people will expect, but I like her and I hope you do to.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven – The Aftermath**

"Mom?"

Laxus' head was swirling with a mess of emotions, most of which were less than positive. He felt as though he couldn't move, as if he were being weighed down by the large ball of anxiousness and nausea that had suddenly invaded his stomach. He couldn't make himself blink, let alone move his eyes away from the woman standing before him. The woman who he hadn't seen face to face in the entirety of his adult life. The woman who left him.

He caught himself scanning her, eyes harsh and unforgiving. Despite knowing it was perhaps immature and vain, he was focusing on her physical flaws – such as the fact she looked significantly older here than she did on TV – rather than anything positive. Because, as far as he was concerned, Sophia Dreyar had nothing positive to speak of.

After an overly harsh physical assessment of his mother, Laxus finally looked towards her face.

It seemed that she too was intaking the rare sight, however her gaze on Laxus was substantially less critical than Laxus' was of her. She had an almost soft expression in her eye, mixed with a small amount of what might have been shock. That was justified, the last time she had seen him was when he was a teenager, with only blonde hair and a slightly jagged facial scar to connect the boy he was then and the man he now was. Despite himself, Laxus had to wonder if she was impressed at all with the person he had become. At least, he assumed it was wonderment; perhaps it was hope.

Shrugging that thought off before it could fester, he took a single step forward. It seemed the movement had slightly shocked Sophia. Maybe she expected him to ignore her or walk away, perhaps he should have. Instead, he spoke.

"How d'you know I'd be here?" He demanded, hostility obvious in his voice.

It wasn't the right question to ask, Laxus would conclude in retrospect, but it was one he needed the answer of. He and his mother hadn't had the means to contact each other for years at that point – not even having each other's phone numbers – and the last time Laxus had talked to her he had been living with his grandfather. So, for her to know where he lived, someone would have had to have told her without thinking to consult him.

"I called your grandfather and he told me." Sophia confessed, apparently not effected by the clear hostile tone. Laxus would have been offended by this, if he wasn't grinding his teeth at the fact it was Makarov of all people who had told Sophia his address. "It took a little convincing. Well, a lot, actually. He obviously cares for you a lot."

The teeth grinding continued. Perhaps this was a continuation of his conscious effort to look for the worst of her, but he couldn't help think that she was trying to justify Makarov being his guardian by complimenting him. To Laxus, it felt like she was almost congratulating herself or letting herself off the hook because the person he ended up with was suitable. He opened his mouth, fully willing to voice that, but stopped short and just sighed.

"You know what. I've had a long fucking day and I don't have the…" He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm too tired for this shit right now."

He walked forward, passing her without a single glance. From his peripheral vision he could see her turning around so her eyes were still on him, and he couldn't help but notice the expression of sadness. His cynicism made it hard to believe the expression was anything but selfish.

As he got to the door to his building and reached into his pocket for his keys, he could hear the soft clicking of his mother's heals against the pavement getting closer. He jaw clenched slightly as he reached inside his pocket, wishing to god he could find his damn key. But, before he manged to fish them out, his mother was standing close to him again.

"Please Laxus, at least let me talk." She said, Laxus not looking towards her. "I know I haven't- I've not been a good mother to you. That's why I'm here, because I want to make it right."

Laxus' posture went rigid, and he had to clench his fist so that he could at least slightly contain his anger. His chest started to obviously expand and retract under the fur lined coat he wore as he turned, a narrow-eyed glare adorning his face as he looked down at the woman.

"Are you fucking kidding?" He all but snarled. "You want to make it right! Seriously. You haven't seen me for twelve fucking years! Twelve years of literally nothing, having no fucking mother, and then you come back randomly. Just as my life is becoming somewhat sane and maybe even good again, and you say you want to make it right. No 'how are you?' or 'I've missed you,' or, hell, 'I'm sorry for fucking off to another shitting continent.' We just go straight back to you. How you messed up and how you wanna make it right, because it's all about you. And, by the way, 'I wanna make it right' sounds like something you read on the dust jacket of some crappy parenting book."

Sophia seemed somewhat shocked by the sudden yelling, which had gotten louder with each word. She went to speak, but Laxus want finished.

"And good job on realising you weren't a good mother. Must have been tough to figure it out." Laxus snapped sarcastically. "It's not like there was any obvious signs, I'm sure most good parents leave their kids under the care of their elderly grandparent who, for all you knew, could have died any day."

"It wasn't my intention to leave you with him for as-"

"Yeah, I know. You only meant to have me live with gramps for a couple months while you were on assignment or whatever. You said that before, when you actually made an effort to keep in touch with me." The blonde was breathing audibly now. "But then, when you realised life without some kid hanging around you neck was something you wanted, you jumped at the chance to duck out and live there permanently."

He had to stop himself from continuing. He was incredibly angry, obviously, but he didn't want to say something he would later regret so needed to stop before that could happens. Instead, he closed his eyes and made an effort to focus on his breathing, unclenching both his fist and his jaw. It calmed him, if only a little.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and Laxus tried not to think too hard about the fact Sophia had yet to deny Laxus' accusation. In the silence, Laxus found himself more aware of his surroundings more than usual. The sounds of the cars passing melded with his audible breathing, he could better smell the dried oil from the nearby mechanics and the rotting fruit from his building's dumpster which had yet to be emptied. He also realised that his neighbours on the lower floor of his building would almost defiantly hear him and would be able to identify who was causing the noise, so he needed to make sure he didn't yell again. His landlord was incredibly intolerant, so even the smallest of complaints from other residents could have gotten him in trouble.

"Laxus, I know I've not been the mother you deserve." She repeated. "That I didn't do the things a mother should have done. And I don't think I'll ever be able to make up for that entirely, but I want to at least try."

He was silent for a moment. The forced calmness, combined with evening atmosphere of the city, gave him a small feeling of level-headedness.

"What does a mother do?" He asked, voice even and unwavering. Sophia looked somewhat confused, perhaps expecting a continuation of the yelling. "Seriously, other than feeding and washing a kid, what d'you think a mother does? And don't give me the boring crap that anyone knows, give me what a real mother does, not just a cliché TV mom."

Sophia opened her mouth, intending to answer, but Laxus felt his annoyance rise up again and cut her off.

"Because here's what I think." A small rise in volume occurred in his voice again. "An actual mother would force me to play a sport I have no interest in as a kid, or help me bake shitty cupcakes for a bake-sale, or give me some awkward talk about not getting a girl pregnant or whatever. The crappy little stuff that you don't think means anything at the time, but you look back on and you just think it was nice or important or something that needed to happen. That kinda stuff I never got."

"I really do understand I could have been a much better parent." Sophia said again, and Laxus had to stop himself from muttering something about her constant repeating. "We could have both tried a little more in keeping in contact, and I can't-"

"What the fuck did you just say." Laxus almost was laughing as he spoke. "We could have both tried to keep in contact? Are you being serious? You're trying to push some of the blame onto me!"

Perhaps Sophia had replied to that, but Laxus had gone passed listening to her. For a short moment, he truly believed that she was trying to be unselfish and really did care more about Laxus than the past suggested. But the suggestion that the breakdown of their relationship – which had been shattered when he was ten years old no less – was in any way his fault told him everything he needed to know. She was just the same as she always had been.

Calming himself down again with the breathing exercises that he had become well versed in at that point, he turned back to his mother and looked her dead in the eye. When he spoke, there was venom in his words.

"You left me in the care of an old man while my father was in prison for doing this to my fucking face." He gestured to the scar covering his eye. "You promised you'd come back and you didn't. I was ten years old, I was confused, and I was vulnerable. And you left me. So don't you dare try and drag me down to your level."

The blonde had to step back, using the small amount of distance between him and his mother to calm himself down further. He ran a hand through his hair and slicked it back, noting that it had been slightly laced in sweat throughout the last few minutes. He paced forward slightly, again trying to focus on all the sounds of the city, knowing that if he began to think through what he had said he might start to regret it or second-guess it. In his heart, he knew he might have been too harsh but what he said needed to come out.

He looked back to see that Sophia was looking at him, perhaps with shock at the bluntness of his words. Although it might have been unfair in retrospect, Laxus wanted his mother to feel guilty and bad at what she had done.

"I just- I just can't do this." Laxus shook his head slightly, looking over his shoulder towards Sophia. "I need some time to think. I didn't have any- I just need some- I can't."

Looking forward again, he turned his back on the door to his building and began to walk away. He needed some fresh air and time to clear his thoughts, and he didn't think his tiny apartment was the right place for either. As he walked, he could hear the harsh clicking of heels against the pavement again, so he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't follow me, I swear to god." He said, resolve breaking slightly. "And don't be here when I get back because… just don't be here."

His head was hung slightly low and posture was small for his size. He walked forward again, this time not accompanied with the sound of clicking against the pavement. He went to turn the corner away from his building's door but stopped and looked back.

His mother was standing there still, watching with an expression of sadness. He couldn't be sure with the distance between them, but there was a likely chance that she was crying, and he naively assumed that the tears might just be real. He turned around fully and spoke again, the anger that had overtaken his voice now gone.

"I can't do this now." His voice cracked slightly. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Mind in a daze, Laxus slowly inputted a code into a keypad, pushed open an expensive looking glass door and walked into an unfamiliar apartment building. He looked around absentmindedly, taking note of the granite floors, extravagant looking elevator doors, multiple different forms of lighting and even the occasional fern. The lobby was a stark contrast to the entrance of his own apartment building, but one he had expected.

He had been wandering around the city for just over an hour, emotions still a swirling mess and the fresh air not doing much to alleviate that. He'd been switching back and forth between overanalysing everything that had happened with his mother to blatantly ignoring what had been said. Neither option was helping.

Over the hour he'd considered doing a lot of things. He was half tempted to call his grandfather or turn up at his place and berate him for what could be considered a betrayal of his trust, but he knew that Makarov was doing what he thought was best. He'd considered calling up Cana or Mirajane and trying to work through it with them, but they had made it clear that they were not to be troubled on their date night and Laxus didn't want to risk their combined rage. He'd even toyed with the idea of going to a crappy bar he walked past and drinking himself into a stupor, but found himself oddly unattracted by that.

So, considering the amount of debate he'd given to every other thought that had crossed his mind, it confused the blonde how he had instantly decided to call Freed the moment the idea came to him.

The conversation was short. Freed had been confused to have Laxus call him so soon after they parted for the day but, despite Laxus' efforts to hide his mess of emotions, Freed had immediately sensed it. He didn't push the issue, but after Laxus was overly flippant about what had happened, Freed had suggested Laxus should visits his apartment so that they could talk, or at least he could be distracted. Laxus hadn't needed much convincing.

Although he had yet to see where Freed lived at that point, he knew the area fairly well. It was closer to the city centre that Laxus' apartment, and he'd actually been there on his garbage run once or twice when someone on that route had called in sick. It was a pretty nice building in a pretty nice area, but he shouldn't have been shocked to see that.

He made a bee-line for the two elevators, ignoring the slightly hesitant look of the security guard from behind the small desk. He supposed it was justified enough, he was slightly dishevelled from both the argument and the walk, so he wouldn't have looked like the usual occupants and guests that arrived at the building. But he had as much a right to be there as anyone else and, as long as the security guy didn't try and kick him out based on his looks alone, there was no point in getting angry. He didn't have the energy for it anyway.

After walking into the elevator and pushing the button for Freed's floor, he leant against the cool metal walls and sighed, relaxing slightly. He ran his hands through his hair and slicked it back again, letting out a small, whispered cuss as he rested for the first time resting since seeing his mother.

"Shit."

The ride to the twelfth floor of Freed's building didn't take too long, and he soon found his way to the apartment Freed claimed was his. After knocking on the door, he didn't have to wait for long until Freed opened it. Since he'd last seen him, his boss had removed his jacket, waistcoat and tie, also having tied his hair higher than what Laxus had seen of it before.

Freed welcomed him in and allowed him inside, Laxus scanning the apartment as he entered. The walls connected to the exterior of the building had the brick exposed and hosted large windows, while the other walls just covered by white paint. Wooden beams stretched across the high ceiling, small spotlights hanging from them to light up the room. The furniture was modern and minimalist, with a small kitchen to the side with the same colour scheme and design choices. Laxus had half expected him to live in some eye wateringly expensive penthouse but, compared to his own apartment, anything was impressive; and the apartment seemed quintessentially Freed in a way that Laxus couldn't vocalise.

"Nice place." Is what he eventually settled on, standing somewhat awkwardly near the sitting room area of the open plan room.

"Thank you. I'm happy with it." Freed said as he motioned to one of the two sofas, Laxus sitting down after. "Would you like something to eat or drink? I can cook you something if you haven't had time to get any dinner yet."

"No need. Got a burger when I was walking around, it'll tide me over for the night." Laxus said as he looked around the apartment further, leaning back on the sofa. Freed nodded but continued to look at Laxus; it took the blonde a few moments to realise why. "Erm, I'll have a bear if you've got one. But if you don't, water or something. Don't mind really."

Freed nodded and walked to his fridge, picking up two bottles of beer and placing them on the counter. As the bottle tops were removed, Laxus took note that it was the same brand of beer that he brought for himself. He flashed a split second smile towards Freed in thanks as he reached for the condensation covered bottle, watching as the other man sat down on the other sofa and took a gulp of his own drink.

A single glance at his boss told him all he needed to know. Freed wasn't looking directly at him, but his body language aimed more towards him than the wall mounted TV, so obviously Freed was more interested in him than anything else; Laxus had realised that you could learn a lot from Freed's body language if you knew what to look for.

"You're off your game." Laxus chuckled, getting Freed's attention. "You'd be a poor man if you were always as easy to read as you are right now."

The look on Freed's face was almost comical. Even if it was just a slight dilation in his eyes and a tiny parting of the lips, the idea of Freed's usually unflappable persona being broken was somewhat amusing. And, even if it was fixed a moment later, Laxus felt a small sense of pride in being able to cause the momentary break.

"You're not a client, I hardly think it fair to treat you like one." Freed said, sipping at his beer. Laxus grinned a little, identifying the weak excuse for what it was. "Besides, being closed off is tiring. Why would I do it now, I've nothing to hide from you."

"Fair enough." Laxus chuckled, before letting out a sigh. "So, I guess you wanna know what happened."

"You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable." Freed immediately assured, but Laxus shook his head.

"Nah. Came here uninvited, least I can do is to tell ya why." Laxus forced out another chuckle, clicking his tongue against his mouth slightly after speaking. "Not like I've got something to be ashamed about."

The blonde shifted slightly, placing his beer on the floor beside the sofa. He raised an eyebrow at Freed when he did this, silently asking it was okay. Freed gestured that it was fine, which somehow made Laxus feel a little more comfortable. The place was immaculate, almost like a show home, so the fact Freed wasn't overly protective of his floors lessened the stress and made him feel just that little bit more… at home.

What also made him feel comfortable was how Freed had turned entirely towards him and was looking directly at his face. Oddly, he noticed the other mans eyes. He hardly ever got to see Freed's eyes, even at the bar they usually sat adjacent to each other. He hadn't noticed how attentive they were until that point. God, he was assessing his bosses eyes; he really was a mess of emotions.

"Long story short, my mom was waiting outside my apartment." He confessed, Freed silently waiting for further explanation. "Last time I saw her, or even talked to her, was twelve years ago."

"Twelve years?" Freed said slowly after a moment. "So, the last time you saw her was when you were…"

"Fourteen, yeah." Laxus let out a bitter single laugh. "I'm sure you can guess it was kind of a shock when I saw her waiting out there."

"I can imagine." Freed said, swigging her beer again. "May I ask why you have such a… strained relationship with each other. If it's not invasive of course."

"Don't mind telling ya, but it might bore you. And I don't wanna seem like I'm feeling sorry for myself." Laxus smiled weakly, but Freed assured him that he wouldn't get bored and certainly wouldn't feel like that. "Guess I should start from the beginning. God, that sounded really cliché to say, sorry."

Freed had a patient expression on his face as he spoke. "You needn't second-guess yourself so much. I promise I wont judge you on whatever happened."

"Picked up on that huh. You're a therapist in disguise, I swear." Laxus shook his head, Freed chuckling slightly at that.

There was a moment of silence between them both, Freed patiently waiting for Laxus to begin when he wanted. The blonde was now acutely aware that he had only known Freed for a few short months, and that expose some personal stuff about him that may make him seem pretty vulnerable. But, with just a glance into Freed's eyes, he felt the sincerity in Freed's assurance that he wouldn't be judged. He leant forward slightly and continued.

"She's a news presenter. When I was a kid, she was pretty new to it and just got a job on a network show. They asked her to cover some European thing and it meant she would have to be there for a couple months. She couldn't take me with her – I was ten, my school probably wouldn't have wanted me to leave for a couple months – and she claimed she needed to take the assignment 'cause she was new and if she said no she would have been demoted; probably a load of crap she sold me trying to justify what happened, but that's what she says. Sorry, off topic. So yeah, she left for Europe for a couple months and left me living with my grandad, the guy you saw a while ago.

"When she was there, she caught the eye of some local news company or something. She claimed they liked her and wanted to take her on as an anchor full time, meaning she would have to move there full time as well. Not sure exactly what happened, gramps was cagey about it at the time and I cared less and less when I got older, but that's about it. And, basically, she took it."

Another silence fell as Freed allowed a frown to fall on his face.

"She just accepted a job in another country – continent even – without discussing it?" Freed asked after a moment. Laxus nodded his head. "That's… shit. Of her to do, I mean."

"Don't think I've heard you cuss before." Laxus almost laughed at his own response, even if it was true. "But yeah, it was shit of her. Gets even worse as well. She didn't even tell me herself. Called Gramps, explained what she'd decided and that her new job meant she didn't have any days off in months so couldn't come back and tell me herself. Meant she left Gramps to break it to me. Mother of the year, right?"

"That's atrocious. Not only to do that, but to put the pressure on her father."

"Not even her father. Grandparents on that side of the family died before I was born." Laxus took a large gulp of the beer he had picked up again. "But yeah. At the start, it wasn't too bad. We called each other and emailed a lot, with Gramps' help. She started to get busier and I was going through puberty, so communication kinda started to trail off. After a couple years, we only really talked on the holidays and my birthday. Still wanted her to be there, but I was becoming a teenager and getting all rebellious, so wouldn't admit it."

Laxus raised the beer to his lips again, only to find out he'd drained it faster than he had expected. He looked up to Freed, who had noticed the empty bottle and nodded towards the kitchen, silently offering him permission to get another. The blonde took the offer and was soon in the kitchen, also planning to get another beer for Freed after noticing he had nearly finished his own.

In spite of the conversation, or perhaps as a distraction from it, he found himself assessing the kitchen. Not only was it as clean and modern as the rest of the apartment, but it also contained a fully stocked spice rack, various types of cooking equipment, and even an overhead pan rack. When he saw the fridge was fully stocked and perfectly organised, he came to the conclusion Freed wasn't the type to get fast food or go to a restaurant every night. He found himself weirdly wishing he had taken up Freed's offer to have him cook to see how good he was, but it would be an abuse of his hospitality.

Besides, the small respite from the conversation ended when he turned back around. Freed obviously had questions – Laxus couldn't blame him – and perhaps Laxus needed to get this off his chest so he could move past it. He removed the bottle caps, handed one beer to Freed and sat back down. This time, he sat beside Freed on the same sofa.

"You said you haven't spoken in years." Freed said after a moment. "Did that come about naturally or did something happen?"

"My birthday. Was turning fourteen and she said she would visit and actually be there. Would have been the first time she could be in the country on my birthday since she left. She called gramps the night before to tell him she had to cancel – some volcano in Italy was acting up when it wasn't predicted to or something so she had to cover it – but I picked up. She ended up telling me instead, we got into an argument. She claimed I needed to understand her point of view and that I was being selfish, so I cussed her out, hung up and that was it. Until today."

"And after all this time, and after leaving it like that, she just turned up unannounced?" Freed questioned, Laxus nodding. "I'm assuming that went well."

"She claimed she wanted to make things right. We argued, got pretty heated. I yelled a lot, probably pissed off my neighbours." He groaned at the thought, hoping none of his neighbours had been in a bad mood that evening. "She said we both could have made more of an effort to keep in contact, so I exploded at her. Kinda feel guilty now."

"Don't." Freed said instantly with more force than Laxus was used to. "You're her child. And after what she did, it should be entirely her responsibility to make an effort."

Slightly taken aback by the tone of voice Freed spoke in, which was unwavering and without doubt, Laxus had to pause and looked towards his boss. The look he got was unique, most of the people he had told about his mother treated him with pity, but Freed seemed different. Other than the small amount of anger that had seeped into the final thing he had said, Freed hadn't really shown any emotions. It felt as if Freed was letting Laxus be the emotional one, which he felt slightly comforted with.

"I do have one more question, if you don't mind." Freed continued after a moment. "You never mentioned your father. Was he around for you?"

"No. When my mom left, he was in prison. Whenever he was out, gramps kept him as far away from me as possible." Again, he laughed bitterly. He hardly ever voiced his parental issued, whenever he did he always realised how ridiculous it sounded. "Sorry, I know that probably brings up a crap ton of questions, but I don't have the energy to go into it now."

"Oh, of course." Freed smiled. "I'm glad that you're comfortable enough to tell me what you did."

"Surprised you didn't get bored. Sure you've had just as many issued with your own parents."

"Not exactly." Freed chuckled. "I don't have parents."

Laxus paused at that, frowning and looking towards Freed again. His boss seemed somewhat amused by the expression if the grin on his face was real, but Laxus didn't pay too much attention to that. He was too busy trying to process the fact that Freed had revealed, quite flippantly, he didn't have parents. Surely that wasn't the way he revealing his parents had died, he would have done that in a more sensitive way.

Freed chuckled at the obvious confusion at his statement. "I grew up in the care system. I was never adopted, so never had parents."

"Oh, shit." Laxus said, somewhat annoyed that he hadn't thought about that. He then realised something. "Mira, Elf and Lisanna grew up in care, didn't they?"

"They were, that's where we met. Although, they were adopted when me and Mira were teenagers." Freed explained, Laxus nodding along slightly. "In case you're wondering, we tell people we met at school because we both want to make sure we don't accidentally reveal the fact we were in care before the other's comfortable enough to tell someone themselves. Obviously, you now know both of us were in care, so there's no point in being candid about it."

"Glad you trust me enough to tell me." Laxus nodded. "You ever know what happened with your parents?"

"No. I know they were both there when I was admitted to the orphanage, and that I was new-born." Freed took another gulp of his fresh beer. "I also know that at least one of them was alive when I became eighteen. They sent a picture of me to them, its customary. But they never made the effort to get into contact with me, and I've been fine without them."

Laxus quickly realised why Freed had been so certain that it should have been his mother's job to make contact with him, because he himself felt the same things about his own parents. He also felt a sense of guilt that he had spent pretty much the entirety of their time together that night bitching about his own parents while Freed arguable had much bigger issued with his own family.

"Don't give me that look." Freed said. "You're more than justified in being angry at your mother. And I'm not so arrogant that I'll forsake anyone who says anything bad about their family out of spite."

"If you're sure." Laxus spoke a little quieter than before.

Silence filled the room again. This time, it felt as though there was no negativity hanging over them. Perhaps he was overthinking things, but Laxus felt a strange sense of comfort in the fact both he and Freed had crappy parents. It felt as though Freed could perhaps understand him more than most people could claim to, which was something he didn't often experience.

He leant back in his seat and drowned the rest of his beer, groaning slightly as he relaxed. After a moment, he picked up the three empty bottles – Freed was still making his way though his second drink – and brought them over to the kitchen to dispose of. He thought that, as he was imposing himself on Freed and drinking his alcohol, he could at least help keep the place tidy. Freed hadn't said anything about it, so he suspected Freed didn't mind.

Eventually, when both men were sure that the conversation was over, Freed had decided to switch on the TV and put on some mindless quiz show. Laxus was appreciative of this, mainly as it meant he wasn't being kicked out. He was weirdly comfortable in Freed's apartment.

As the evening went on, the atmosphere became more relaxed. They talked over the TV, partly about their work and partly about whatever show found itself on the TV as the night continued. Laxus felt himself becoming more and more comfortable as time progressed, possibly even more so than he did at his own apartment. That was most likely due to the company, sitting in his dingy place in practically silence didn't lead to the most enjoyable atmosphere.

He had noticed that, after their conversation about parents, Freed had almost reverted to his unreadable self that he presented to his clients. He hoped he hadn't been intrusive with his questions but suspected that if Freed didn't want to answer something, he wouldn't have. The fact he had returned to his snarky, quick-witted fairly soon after self also helped Laxus with convincing himself that it wasn't his fault that Freed clammed up again.

"Shit." The blonde cussed as he glanced at his phone. "It's nearly midnight."

"Really?" Freed questioned, looking to the clock he had mounted on his wall. "Damn, that certainly came out of nowhere."

"Yeah. Guess I should go." Laxus said, standing up. "You probably don't want me hanging around your neck for any longer."

"Are you sure you're okay to get there on your own?" Freed questioned, watching as Laxus picked up the coat that had been slung over the armrest of the unused sofa. "It's pretty late and you're a little drunk. You probably don't have the best control of yourself right now."

"If I didn't know any better, I would have though you sounded worried about me." Laxus grinned.

"Of course I'm worried, I know where you live." Freed smirked. "It's one barrel-fire away from looking like The Walking Dead. And you stumbling about, groaning and struggling to get through a door won't help that image."

"You're funny, ain't ya?" Laxus chuckled.

"Of course, it's why you're laughing." Freed's smirk intensified. "But honestly, if you want to spend the night here you're more than welcome to. This is a sofa bed and I'm sure you wouldn't want to trek all the way to your apartment at the middle of the night."

Laxus was slightly taken aback aby that. He had expected Freed to offer to order him a taxi at the most, certainly not give him his living room for the night. Part of him felt as though Freed was only offering out of obligation and if he accepted it, he would be abusing Freed's hospitality. But everything he knew about Freed said that he wouldn't have said something if he didn't mean it, it was a trait he appreciated in his boss. Too many people lied just to be polite, so having someone as blunt as him was something Laxus liked.

He took a few moments to consider the offer. It was true that he really didn't want to walk to his apartment in the middle of the night, and the buzz from the beer was making his vision slightly blurred, so he concluded that it would be best to not risk it.

"You sure?" He asked to make sure, Freed nodding. "Thanks, appreciate it."

"It's no trouble. I'll get you some sheets, you can set the bed up yourself if you'd like." Freed stood up. "You'll have to move the coffee table, I don't mind where you put it. The bed comes out if you pull the switch under the armrest"

Laxus nodded as Freed walked to one of the doors, most likely to his bedroom. Laxus carefully removed the ornaments off the wooden coffee table, lifted it up and moved it so it was adjacent to the dining table, then placing the ornaments back onto it in the same way they had been before; for all he knew, Freed might have had some weird OCD about coffee tables. He then flicked the switch under the armrest of the sofa, having to take a quick step back as it quickly sprung out in front of him. After nudging it to make sure it was stable, he sat down and surmised that, just like the sofa itself, the mattress was pretty comfortable.

Freed soon returned, a large duvet, some pillows and bed sheets slung over his arm. Laxus stood up and walked to Freed, removing the pillows and sheet from his arms and placing them on the mattress. Laxus noticed his boss glance to the coffee table and see it was laid out in the same way, but he didn't say anything so Laxus didn't either.

"I'll leave you to make the bed yourself." Freed said, placing the folded duvet beside the pillows and sheets. "Feel free to get something to drink or eat in the night if you want it. The bathroom's on the left side of the hall. And if, for whatever reason, you need me don't hesitate to wake me up. I might be a little hostile, but the sword on my wall's just for display."

"Thanks, that good of- you have a sword on your wall?"

"I used to fence. I keep my sword as a momentum from it."

"Okay." Laxus chuckled a little. "But seriously, thanks, you didn't need to do this. You didn't, like, give me the sheets off your own bed did ya?"

"I like you, Laxus, but not that much." Freed grinned a little.

"So if you didn't have any you would have left me in here to freeze." Laxus crossed his arms, feigning offense. "That's cold, Freed. Even for your standards."

"Yes I would and yes it is." Freed smirked, also crossing his arms in a challenging way. "And anyway, your coat is large and absurd enough to take the place of a blanket if you needed it."

"My coat ain't absurd." Laxus said with exaggerated offence, before grinning and playing up his hurt further. "I'll have you know it's the most fashionable thing I own."

"Then I weep for your wardrobe." Freed smirked. "See you in the morning, Laxus."

"See ya, Freed."

Freed began to walk towards his bedroom, hearing Laxus shuffle around the room slightly as he began to put the sheets over the mattress of his bed for the night. He glanced over his shoulder as he reached the door to his bedroom after hearing the shuffling stop, seeing that Laxus was looking directly at him. He frowned, waiting for Laxus to speak.

"Seriously, thanks." Laxus said with sincerity in his voice. "Not just for letting me sleep here. Not many people would let me rant like you did, then get my mind of it and salvage the day. So… thanks for that."

"Don't mention it." Freed smiled.

That was all that needed to be said. Laxus went about making up the bed and Freed retired to his bedroom. After shutting the door, Freed let out a small breath that he hadn't realised he was holding in. He walked to his bed and sat on it, removing the tie from his hair and running a hand through the long green locks. He leant back slightly, realising something. He had a problem.

Up until that point, his relationship with Laxus had been entirely platonic. The fact Laxus was attractive in his eyes, something that he had eventually had to accept after Loke initially brought it up, had never been an issue as they were just becoming friends. That changed that night.

Something about seeing Laxus in a more vulnerable state, and offering Laxus a sense of vulnerability of his own, had changed this. It had shifted their relationship from being new and fairly shallow to something much more real. Worse still, this new sense of connection had lead to Freed's positive thoughts of Laxus increasing. Not only was Laxus the trustworthy employee who could also make him laugh, he was now someone who he could almost confide in. Someone he trusted and who trusted him, something that didn't come easily with Freed. It certainly didn't usually come as fast as it had with his employee.

With a silent exhale of breath, he realised that his relationship with Laxus defiantly wasn't just that of a boss and an employee. Nor did it conform to that of a typical friendship, at least not with Freed. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he was beginning to get worried about it.

He found Laxus endearing and exciting in a way that was new to him. He had a good idea of what that meant, but the reality of admitting that was much harder than he expected. But there was no denying what it was: the beginning of romantic attraction.

For the second time that day, he cussed.

"Shit."


	12. Chapter 12 - The Breakfast Conversation

**Hey all. Get ready for some more soft angst, some advice from the worst person possible, and a little follow up from last chapter's cliffhanger (if you can call it that). I'm surprisingly happy with how this chapter turned out, so I hope you all like it.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**

 **Also, I have a Tumblr I post things on, if you want to contact me for some reason :) - eryis-creydull**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve – The Breakfast Conversation**

Standing in his kitchen, Freed found himself oddly aware of his surroundings. He could see the condensation on the side of his kettle slowly getting captured by the boiling water; he could smell what he suspected was reheated Indian food from below his apartment that had snuck in through the open window; and, perhaps most importantly, he could hear the sound of water rapidly beating against the door to his shower cubicle in the bathroom adjacent to him.

A bathroom that was, at that time, occupied by Laxus Dreyar.

This fact was complicated for many reasons. The most prominent complication was that, the night before, Freed had come to the sudden and completely unwanted realisation he was starting to have feelings for Laxus. His employee. A man who was clearly vulnerable at that moment and didn't need his boss thinking of him in that way.

After what seemed like an explosive reunion with his mother, Laxus had visited his boss and stayed the night in Freed's living room. They'd talked to each other about what had happened, Freed suspecting that the both of them had shared more about themselves than either was normally comfortable doing. Then, once they had both retired to bed, Freed was left alone with the fact he had some kind of romantic feelings for Laxus. After an unpleasant night of dealing with the revelation – in which he had enlisted Bickslow's advice by texting him for his thoughts on the matter – Freed concluded he had no desire to let the mental chaos continue in the morning. Hence his attempt at distracting himself by focusing on anything and everything he could.

However, rather annoyingly, that focus kept staying to the sound of the active shower. Freed was just glad he wasn't a teenager anymore, he dreaded to think how he would react to the knowledge a bathing Laxus was metres away if he were still in the throes of puberty.

He shook his head slightly as he heard the gentle click of the kettle finishing its job. Seeing it as a distraction, he poured the boiling water through a strainer to make himself a mug of blueberry tea, a favourite of his. As he gently stirred the beverage and let it cool, he pulled his phone out from his pocket and opened the three unread messages he had from Bickslow after he had fallen asleep while waiting for a reply.

 **From: Bicks**

 _Look freed this is all it boils down to. you either ignrore it or do something_

 _about it right? If you ignore it theres no problem. If you don't then you_

 _gotta find out if he likes guys and if he likes you then act on yout feelings_

 _when you know that. treat it like a normal relationship, forget he works_

 _for ya._

 **From: Bicks**

 _You there dude? You asleep or making out with blondie. Cause if youre_

 _just ignoring me you can bet your ass that when im at yours next month_

 _im gonna whack you over the head for it :) :)_

 **From: Bicks**

 _Okay, G'night ya little baby. And when you wake up and read this just_

 _make sureyou don't freak out. You aint don't anything wrong and you_

 _aint gonna. Your doin a freed and over thinking crap. Nighty night._

 _Xxxxx_

Despite the fact the messages were doing the opposite of distracting Freed form his issues, the gambler chuckled. Bickslow had a way of making things seem considerably less severe in his way of phrasing things, all while managing to give pretty good advice. It was partly the reason why the two had remained friends despite living in different countries.

Gently sipping at the steaming drink he had made for himself, he leant back on his kitchen counter and listened as the sound of his shower slowly died down. He let out a small sigh, knowing that he would have to face Laxus eventually.

Freed hadn't been awake for long. When he left his bedroom, Laxus was already awake, dressed in the same clothes he had worn before and had returned the sofa bed into its normal state. They'd greeted each other a good morning, Laxus had asked if he could use Freed's shower – making sure that Freed knew he didn't want to impose and he could bathe at home if needed – and that had been the extent of their conversation before Laxus retreated to his bathroom. The brevity had worked in Freed's favour, but he knew he would have to let it fall sooner or later. Most likely sooner considering the fact Freed was going to offer Laxus breakfast, it was the right thing to do.

With a sigh, he placed his tea on the counter and went to reply to his friend. He had no doubt Bickslow would carry out his threat of violence against hins if he didn't get his reply the moment the gambler woke up.

 **To: Bicks**

 _My apologies for falling asleep on you, but at least I didn't hurt your_

 _pride and force you to hit me. And I should thank you for the advice,_

 _I'll try to take it. Sorry for waking you up with my little problems, I'm_

 _sure you would have rather been sleeping._

He placed his phone on the counter and reached into one of the lower cupboards, taking out two large mixing bowls. He then manoeuvred his way around the kitchen, taking out the needed ingredients for pancakes as well as some bacon and syrup for their breakfast; he was a good host if nothing else. And he was willing to use the excuse of a guest to forego his usual breakfast of a less than appetising smoothie and a piece of bread covered in low-fat peanut butter.

As he whisked the mixture together for the pancakes, he looked up when Laxus opened the bathroom door and walked out. He was fully dressed again and dried off but looked a little more awake than he had before. He looked towards Freed, frowning a little at the bowl of batter.

"I'm making breakfast, pancakes and bacon." Freed explained. "I've more than enough if you want some."

"You sure?" Laxus asked, Freed nodding. "That'd be great, thanks."

Freed nodded again, watching as Laxus sat at the small breakfast bar that partitioned the living room from the kitchen. The gambler felt oddly tense about being around Laxus, hoping he hadn't decided to make the breakfast so that he could show off to Laxus but hadn't realised it. He diminished that thought immediately, there was no point in second guessing everything he did. Even still, he felt himself get more rigid and aware of what he was doing now Laxus was in his presence.

Focusing on quickly whisking the batter into the right consistency, he risked a glance towards Laxus. The blonde was looking down, his posture lacking the pride Freed had become accustomed to. As he poured the mixture onto a frying pan, Laxus looked up to the sound of the sizzling.

One glance at Laxus' face made Freed pause. The blonde was obviously going through a lot – more than Freed had expected, it seemed – as his face was a mixture or sadness he wouldn't allow to come forth and tiredness coming from an emotional state rather than a lack of sleep. When he compared both of their issues, Freed concluded that he would be acting selfishly if he claimed the issue of his budding crush was anywhere near as bad or emotionally taxing as Laxus' mother returning without warning after so long. Laxus was Freed's friend and the gambler needed to help him, rather than just getting messed up in his own thoughts.

"How are you feeling?" Freed asked after a moment.

"Okay, I think. Slept pretty well, but I think that's because your damn sofa bed is more comfortable than my own mattress." Laxus chuckled, somewhat bitterly. "I spent some of the night thinking about what I'm gonna do about her."

"And?"

"No idea." He sighed, resting his head on his hand. "Pretty much changed my mind every other second."

With a gentle nod, Freed reached over the top of his oven and decided to turn the pancake over using a spatula rather than flipping it, that would take away from the seriousness of the moment. After letting the batter bubble into the shape of a pancake, he carefully slid it down and onto a plate. He placed the food into his oven to keep it warm, pulling out some bacon to accompany them.

He had chosen not to speak so not to say the wrong thing. For all he knew, Laxus wouldn't be appreciative of what advice Freed had to offer, and it was likely the gambler's advice wouldn't be that useful given he had a clearly biased view against needing parents. Besides, Freed expected he would be able to predict what Laxus would end up doing anyway. Nobody was that conflicted about something if they didn't want to do it eventually, the blonde was most likely just scared of getting hurt again if he took the risk.

With another glance down to Laxus, Freed saw he was hunched up again and resting his forearms on the counter, fingers interconnected. The closed off body language told Freed his decision to be silent was the right one.

Putting his attention back onto the food before him, Freed slowly made them both breakfast. The only time the two of them had spoken, Freed had asked how many pancakes Laxus wanted; he claimed he was fine with three and that he was sorry he wasn't the best conversation at that moment. Freed assured him it was fine and understandable, placing his breakfast before him.

"Thanks." Laxus said as he looked up, reached for the bottle of syrup and poured it over his breakfast.

"Its fine." Freed assured him, taking a seat opposite Laxus on the breakfast bar, also pouring some syrup over his meal. "I couldn't exactly leave you without anything while I ate, could I?"

"I didn't mean about the breakfast." Laxus said, cutting into some syrup covered bacon. "Well, I did. But not just that. The breakfast is just part if it. Give me a second."

Freed offered Laxus a small smile, deciding that he would do as he was told and not interrupt Laxus' train of thought. He cut into his food and ate a small amount of it, glad to find that it tasted as good as it could have been. The equipment in his kitchen was impressive – he had pretty much every utility available – and he was keen to show any guests he had that they weren't just for show and they were used effectively. Freed enjoyed both cooking and baking, thankfully the little breakfast he had made proved he was also good at it.

After slowly eating his through some of his breakfast – silently noting the taste as he did so – Laxus looked up. He wasn't entirely sure what had brought the thought to his head, but the blonde knew he needed to say it.

"Okay. So what I meant was, thanks for pretty much everything." Laxus began again, Freed looking towards him to show he had his attention. "Like, I'm not sure if you know it, but the night we met was a pretty low point for me. You probably noticed, I was kinda shitty that night looking back. And the fact you offered me a job even though I was being a drunkass and feeling sorry for myself, it was really good of you. You've been real patient with me, through a lot of shit that really has no effect on your life. You could've easily just passed me off as a random drunk at the bar or, last night, you could have just said I could have a couple days off and brush me off."

"I like to think that we're a little closer than that, Laxus." Freed said, voice almost gentle.

"I know. I think that too." Laxus said immediately, not wanting Freed to feel as though he had misunderstood their friendship. "What I mean is, like, you didn't need to do any of that shit. You could have just treated me like some subordinate, never talk to me and look at me like some poor drunk or whatever. But you genuinely treat me like you actually, I don't know, care. Like, even last night, you weren't just being polite or patronising or whatever. You actually tried to help. And if you were being patronising and polite, you hid it really fucking well."

Laxus chuckled a little, and Freed couldn't identify if it was bitterly or not. Either way, Freed was half tempted to offer some sort of physical comfort to the other man – nothing more than a gentle pat on his hand – but went against it. It wasn't the right time for that.

Instead, the room was filled with the sound of a radio station Freed had put on before Laxus had left the shower, a further addition to his earlier attempts to distract himself, and the gently clinking of the knifes cutting through the pancakes and bacon. Freed knew that Laxus wasn't apologising because he wanted Freed to say something, it was most likely something Laxus wanted to get off his chest but didn't want it to be spoke of again. If all Laxus wanted was for Freed to know he was thankful, he had achieved the goal and nothing more needed to be said.

To the tune of some eighties pop song, both men finished their breakfasts. Freed, who had finished first, stood up and placed his plate in the dishwasher. He sat down and nursed his now cooled blueberry tea, looking towards Laxus as he finished the rest of his breakfast. He sat back in the stool, a sigh leaving his lips.

"That was really good." Laxus concluded. "If that's the normal quality of your food, you're a pretty good cook. You, like, take classes or something?"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Freed smiled a little, taking the plate and placing it in the dishwasher, though not turning it on yet. "And no, I'm mainly self-taught. I learnt in the care-home, there was a lot of cook books, after a while you learn the basics and get experimental."

"You always liked it?" Laxus asked, sipping at some orange juice he had.

"At the start, no. When I was thirteen the care-home was understaffed and had a few young children who needed constant care, so we ended up having the same meal every other day because it was quick. I was getting bored of it and knew we had cookbooks, so I tried making some meals for myself. Eventually, as I grew a little older, I started to cook for more than just me and grew to like it. And it was always good to have a skill on my back pocket for when I needed work."

Laxus nodded, silently wondering what life living in an orphanage – or care home, as it was apparently called – was like. The only idea he had about it was from dramas that painted them as practically unliveable and with carers who hated kids and didn't hide it, but that was almost defiantly an exaggeration. Even still, living in a place where a thirteen-year-old had to cook for himself because the carers were so overrun didn't exactly pain a pretty picture, even if Freed was acting as if it was part of his daily life. In fact, the fact Freed seemed so nonplussed about it made it seem even worse for some reason.

The blonde was forced to think back to his own situation with his parents. With Ivan in jail one moment and out the other and his mother having left him completely, he had to rely on Makarov. They'd had their arguments, of course, but the old man had always been there for him. Without him, Laxus may have ended up in a care home himself.

Maybe he would have ended up in one with Freed. It seemed fate was pushing them together, given they went to the same gym, had a shared friend and met on the exact night where Laxus had needed Freed, perhaps giving Laxus crap parents was just fate's way of pushing them together further. Makarov getting in the way of fate's plan wasn't so farfetched either, the man was as stubborn as all hell when he wanted to be, especially about people he considered family.

Sadly, that thought lead him back to thinking about the issued with his mother, something he had done well to forget for the last few minutes. He sighed, deciding not to focus on it too much.

"Was that what you were gonna do?" Laxus questioned, looking to Freed with idle curiosity. "Work in the kitchen."

"It was an option. Magnolia has an endless number of restaurants, and you can live off of a chef's wages without much trouble." Freed explained, sitting back down. "And we were encouraged to be as employable as possible for when we became eighteen."

"Do you seriously get kicked out when your eighteen, or is that bullshit?"

"Technically, it's true." Freed sipped at his tea again. "But there's organisations to help with that if you have nowhere to go. And one of my carers, Bob, retired a few months before I left. He had a spare room so offered it to me while I found my feet, he still does it now I believe. But, to answer your question, you do essentially get kicked out, but it's not so bad you become homeless on your eighteenth birthday."

Laxus nodded again, glad to hear that Freed hadn't been thrown to the streets. He wasn't entirely sure why he would be bothered if that had happened, Freed obviously had no troubles with money or a place to live now. He supposed it was because nobody wants to hear bad things happen to people they care for.

After finishing his orange juice, he stood up and placed the glass in the dishwasher himself; it was literally the least he could do. As he looked to Freed, his mind was brought back to something Freed had said about why he had employed Laxus. Given what he now knew about Freed, he felt the statement had a higher level of importance.

"When I asked why you wanted me to work for you, you said people don't always get what the deserve," Laxus said, somewhat slowly. "Was that referencing you not, you know, having parents."

"Yes, although not because I think I was owed parents. Even as a child, I didn't particularly care if I was adopted or not," Freed said, watching as Laxus sat down again. "When you've lived in care, there's a stigma attached. People, whether they know it or not, assume you're a troubled child or have something wrong with you; sometimes this is true, but defiantly not always. Questions will be raised as why you weren't adopted, and this can affect your future. Without becoming a gambler, my horizons would have been average at best. It's something I accepted fairly young, but I still think it's unfair. When I saw you, I felt as though you were being limited by a situation you had no control over, like I had been, and I wanted to help you," Freed smiled a little, before adding. "My apologies if that sounds patronising."

"No, it doesn't," Laxus sent Freed a small grin to reassure him. "And even if it did, I still would have gotten a job out of it, so who cares?"

"I suppose so." Freed chuckled.

Once Freed finished his drink, he stood up and placed it in the dishwasher, this time turning it on. He looked back to Laxus to see him looking at his hands again. He seemed to be feeling a little worse again, perhaps the discussion of parents had brought back his troubles with his mother; the blonde really was an open book at times.

It was a quality that, until that point, Freed hadn't cared about. Previously, it had left to nothing more than a little teasing at the blonde's expense, but now it was showing Freed more things to like about him. An example of this was, when Laxus had walked past him, Freed could see a small dampness at the bottom of the mans hair. Freed had surmised that Laxus hadn't adjusted the height of the shower head for Freed's sake, despite it being set at a height not suited for Laxus' stature. That, along with the fact Laxus had perfectly replicated the locations of his coffee table ornaments after moving it, showed he was considerable more considerate than Freed had originally given him credit for. Like a lot of things about Laxus, Freed found it irritatingly endearing.

When he sat himself down again, he picked up his phone. It was face down on the counter and he had heard it buzz throughout their conversation but decided Laxus should be the priority. Now that the atmosphere had lightened somewhat, he opened the text.

 **From: Bicks**

 _If you think id rather sleep than see you freak out about some guy you like_

 _then you don't know me freed._ _But you better take my advice cause theres_

 _no point in worrying about it. whatever happens happens. Blondie still with_

 _ya? If he is, tell him his favourite artist says yo. And use that exact word, i_

 _will know if you just say hi or some crap._

Freed chuckled a little at the text. Bickslow honestly was the best kind of person for Freed to be friends with. Someone to tell him not to overthink things and to just go with the flow while also lightening the mood. He rolled his eyes with a small grin as he typed out a response.

 **To: Bicks**

 _You're a deplorable human being and that kind of bastardisation of_

 _words leads to the creation of phrases such as 'YOLO' and 'Bae.'_

 _However, as you helped me last night I suppose it could be argued_

 _that I owe you something, so I will._

Although Freed looked up so he could make good on his promise, fully aware that the word 'yo' was one of few words that sounded bad coming from him, his phone buzzed immediately. He sighed almost silently, looking to the response with reserved tiredness.

 **From: Bicks**

 _You really had to put them in quotation marks to make sure I don't_

 _think you actually said it yourself. And please film it so I cn watch_

 _you cringe. And so I know you did it._

After reading the text, Freed risked another glance towards Laxus. He didn't want to make Laxus feel uncomfortable by texting while he sat there awkwardly, but Laxus too was typing on his phone with a frown on his face, perhaps he had been holding off looking at his phone for the same reason Freed had. It didn't matter really, he quickly typed out a reply to Bickslow before the opportunity was lost on him.

 **To: Bicks**

 _No, I will torture you with the doubt of you not knowing for sure if_

 _I actually said it or not. I hope that doubt eats your soul. That's all_

 _I have to say on the matter._

 **From: Bicks**

 _Fine grumpy pants. But my freed cringe sense will tell me if it_

 _happened or not. See you in a couple weeks, your sofas still open_

 _right? Not got hunky blonde as a permanent guest now?_

 **To: Bicks**

 _You're more than welcome to stay. Although whether you annoy me_

 _To the point where I kick you out is another point entirely._

 **From: Bicks**

 _That's fair. Love ya xxxxxxxx_

With another roll of his eyes, Freed placed his phone down on the counter. When he looked back to Laxus, he saw that the typing the blonde had been doing had turned into scrolling, so obviously his conversation was over. Concluding that he wasn't going to be interrupting anything important, he leant forward slightly to get Laxus' attention.

"Sorry for ignoring you," Freed said, Laxus looking up from what looked like twitter. "Bickslow can be temperamental when you don't reply to him immediately."

"Don't mind," Laxus grinned a little. "So you two are actually close?"

"He lived in the care home with me. Left two years before me, but we shared a room for most of the time we were both there, so we bonded," Freed explained, chuckling a little. "I hope you don't mind, but I told him you enjoy his music."

"Nah," Laxus lifted a hand dismissively. "As long as you didn't make me sound like some creepy stalker or something. You didn't, did ya."

"I didn't. Whether he thinks of you like that or not is entirely different," Freed chuckled, seeing Laxus grin a little more at the comment. "He also instructed me to tell you that your 'favourite artists says _yo_.'"

At the word that was literally spat out with disgust, Laxus did something he hadn't expected to do when he had woken up that morning; laugh. It wasn't just a chuckle, or a snort, it was a full burst of laughter. The slight, clearly exaggerated glare on Freed's face did nothing to stop the laughter, eventually it forced him to rest his hand against his mouth to stop the laughter from looking so obvious.

Eventually, Freed let his forced scowl drop and just smiled at the blonde's display. It was good to see him smiling and more like himself after the mood he had been in last night. He had been too busy trying to help his friend at the time to notice at the time but seeing Laxus so solemn had been hard to witness.

When Laxus' laughter subsided – which took longer than Freed thought was fair, it wasn't that funny – his face fell slightly. Freed frowned in a silent question as Laxus played with his phone, the gambler thinking back to the obvious conversation Laxus was having on his phone while Freed was talking with Bickslow. The blonde had a face that was less than relaxed, so it was likely that whatever the conversation had been about was the reason for his sullen attitude returning.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, was just talking with Gramps," Laxus sighed. "Don't remember if I told ya, but he was the one who told my mom where I lived. Apparently, he was texting and calling me pretty much all night, turned my phone off so didn't get any of them until now. He wants to talk about it."

"Will you?"

"I have to, don't I? Can't ignore it forever," Laxus ran a hand over his face. "Maybe it'll help, 'cause I ain't coming up with any good ideas about what to do."

"Perhaps it will., Freed smiled solemnly. "And, unless you don't want it or consider it an invasion of privacy, I would like to offer my opinion," Laxus motioned for Freed to go on. "I'd say give her the benefit of the doubt and organise a meeting with her. The fact she's trying to reconcile says a lot, as harsh as this may sound, she didn't need to. And you shouldn't deny yourself the opportunity, you never know when it might be too late."

Laxus was silent for a moment, which gave Freed a moment to think about what he had said. He was very much of the mindset that family was earned, not given; this was particularly true with parents. It could be argued that Laxus' mother certainly hadn't earned the title, yet he had given the blonde advice that went against that mindset.

Perhaps he knew that was what Laxus needed, and that he needed to put his own view on parenthood to the back of his mind for the moment.

"I guess she didn't," Laxus mumbled a little. "You really think I should meet her."

"For closure's sake, yes," Freed nodded slightly. "And please don't think this is some kind of 'I didn't have parents, so you should be thankful for what you've got' kind of things. I just think this is what's best for you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," Laxus nodded, offering a sad smile. "I should probably go and talk to Gramps, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Freed stood up as he spoke. "Good luck."

Laxus smiled a little and stood up, walking towards the door to Freed's apartment. Freed followed him, watching as Laxus opened the door and leant against it. For a moment, they stood in silence and looked towards each other. In the few seconds of eye contact, Freed could practically feel all the emotions whirling through Laxus' head at what he was about to do. The gambler silently hoped that their time together had offered Laxus a short heaven from his mess.

Eventually, Laxus sighed and pushed himself off the door. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't avoid the situation any longer. With a final audible sigh and run of his hand over his face, he looked down to Freed for a final time that morning.

"Thanks for letting me stay. Out of everything, I don't think I thanked you for that." Laxus chuckled.

"It's fine. What else was I going to do?"

"Guess so," Laxus chuckled. "See you later then, boss."

"See you."

After giving Freed a single nod, Laxus slowly walked through the door and began to walk down the corridor towards the building's elevators. Freed went to close the door but caught Laxus turning around at the end of the hallway and turn back, so he pulled the door open again and looked to the blonde with a small amount of curiosity.

"It, erm, it looks good like that. Your hair, I mean. Suits a pony tail," Laxus mumbled just audible enough for Freed to hear from where he was standing. "Like, you can see more of your-" He gestured to his own face. "It's good. I think it suits ya, maybe wear it like that more often. I dunno."

The elevator had been called and the blonde had walked into it before Freed could reply to the compliment. As the blonde left his sight and Freed closed the door to his apartment, he was left with the intolerable lingering question about what the compliment had meant. Was it just an observation, had he wanted to leave the morning on a topic other than his complicated family life, or did Freed have the arrogance and perhaps naivety to believe that could have been Laxus' way of trying to flirt with him. The last option seemed most farfetched.

When he felt a buzz in his pocket, the gambler perhaps hoped his answer would be given to him. Instead, he was met with the sight of Bickslow's follow up text, which only elected a slightly disbelieving laugh at the absurdity of the situation Freed found himself in.

 **From: Bicks**

 _You said it. I could literally feel the venom in your voice and how_

 _much you wanted to kill me flowing in my blood:) Did blondie_

 _laugh at ya. If he did, it means he's your soul mate. I know souls_

 _and that's totally how it works!_

Frees shook his head in wonderment. How it was at all possible Bickslow could know Freed had said what he'd been demanded of was impossible enough, but the fact he could send a text where he claimed Laxus could be his should mate at the exact moment Freed was confused if the blonde had been flirting was practically absurd. The gambler quickly sent a reply.

 **To: Bicks**

 _I don't think soul mates are his priority at the moment, Bicks. He's got_

 _a fair amount going on in his life and I don't think he needs romance_

 _in the way of that._

 **To: Bicks**

 _But yes. He did laugh._


	13. Chapter 13 - The Support System

**Hey guys. I'm back with a new chapter. It's a pretty long one and contains a couple of heart-to-hearts, some revelations being discovered and a party being discussed. Also, I've written some one shots for Fraxus Week, all of which can be seen on my Tumblr eryis-creydull, FFN account and Ao3 account. Check them out if you want.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen – The Support System**

Cards flew between Loke's hands, being expertly tossed from side to side. The bachelor mindlessly began to shuffle them into a deck that could be fairly played, though his attention had strayed from what he was doing and instead onto the man sitting at the other end of the patio table that he housed on his balcony. Loke didn't say anything but wore the smallest of concerned frowns as he looked towards his house guest.

An hour prior, Loke had been enjoying a quiet evening at a nearby cocktail bar that he often frequented. He had been talking to a delightfully handsome gentleman after seeing him sitting alone and had create quite the flirtatious rapport with him through the times and drinks they had shared together. Almost on the exact moment Loke had intended to turn his charm up a notch and invite the gentleman to his apartment – his drinks were cheaper than the bar's, after all – his phone had lit up and he'd received a text that ended the night early for the bachelor. Loke wasn't too upset, however, as he enjoyed flirting just as much anything carnal.

Normally, a text wouldn't have affected a night out for him; if he wanted to, he could ignore it and make a show about how the recipient of his flirting was a higher priority to Loke than his text. But this text was from Freed, which was somewhat a rarity in and of itself, and he'd claimed he wanted to talk when Loke had the time. Loke knew this meant Freed was concerned about something, which rarely happened, so politely ended his night with the gentleman – with the promise he'd be more than willing to pick up where they left off if given the chance – and returned home, inviting Freed to join him.

Now on his balcony, Loke was waiting for Freed to say something. The sound of the city filled the silence as Loke continued to shuffle the cards until he was satisfied, when he carefully started to deal the cards and made Freed look up.

"Usual stakes, I assume?" Loke questioned. When Freed nodded, Loke let out a silent sigh and leant forward. "So, are we going to talk about what's bothering you, and don't deny it because we both know I can read you as well as you can read normal people, or will we just sit in silence?"

Freed was silent for a few moments before he spoke. "You consider yourself abnormal?"

"Sweetheart, if everybody had this much perfection in them, the world would be in a constant orgy. Of course I'm abnormal," Loke smirked. "But I'd appreciate it if you answered my question."

The gambler didn't, instead he looked at his cards with a stoic expression, pushing a small pile of chips into the middle of the glass table. Loke knew that Freed, even if he wasn't completely willing to, needed to talk about whatever was bothering him. He was usually a man who was in control of whatever situation he found himself, so Loke knew that the issue wasn't going to be trivial even if Freed thought otherwise. The bachelor just needed to give his friend a gentle nudge in the right direction, and he knew exactly how to do it.

"Well I don't intend to sit here in silence, I've had much better offers tonight," Loke continued, also pushing a pile of chips to match and raise Freed's bet. "I was actually out when you texted, at that nice little cocktail bar two blocks away. You've been there, haven't you?"

"One or two times," Freed said, matching the bet but not raising it. "I didn't interrupt you, did I?"

Loke sent him a charming smile. He didn't speak immediately, setting down his cards to see his hand was an obvious winner over Freed's two pair. Taking the pile of chips and adding them to the small collection nearer to him, he made sure he wouldn't clean Freed out too badly if given the chance. If Freed had some kind of issue he was dealing with and didn't want to talk about it, then the last thing he needed was to lose a large amount of money to his friend. Instead, Loke would continue with his nudging and get the truth of what was bothering him out.

"No, nothing too important," Loke grinned a little. "I did find some company, though. Handsome, tall, almost as good at flirting as I am. We had a lot in common, actually. Hardly ever happens with me, finding a kindred spirit like that, but don't worry. I mean, depending on how the evening went, I could have one day married him, but you weren't to know that, were you?"

Freed paused for a second, before smiling and replying with amusement in his voice. "Are you trying to guilt me into telling you what's bothering me?"

"Yes, I am," Loke grinned, leaning forward. "And I will continue to do so until you do tell me what's wrong. And the longer it takes, the more absurd and shameless the guilting will become. And, for full disclosure, I'm already thinking of the names of the kids I could have had with the man that you stopped from happening."

"How would you have kids with another man that have those exact names?" Freed asked sardonically.

"Surrogacy. Or maybe we'd get lucky with adoption," Loke smiled. "Well, not anymore. None of that can happen now. Because of you. Freed Justine."

With an audible sigh, Freed placed his cards on the table – face down, they were still gambling after all – and leant forward. He knew that he would end up telling Loke about what was bothering him eventually, he'd texted Loke for that very reason, so there was no point in denying it. Although, he was partially interested to see how far Loke was willing to go in describing the life he could have had with the man he barely knew at the bar. The bachelor had proven himself in the past to have quite the rich imagination.

"I believe that I have some kind of feelings for Laxus," Freed admitted.

Loke, upon hearing this, made sure to asses his friend before speaking. The few times they had met since Laxus had come under Freed's employment, Loke had made some light joking about the potential of something happening between the two of them, but he now suspected this wasn't the right time. Freed's posture was slightly more hunched than normal, he had immediately picked up his glass after speaking so he wouldn't be tempted to tap his fingers against the table, and he was barely hiding the fact he was avoiding eye contact. Obviously, this was affecting him, so making some comment about him liking the striking jawbone of the blonde wouldn't be appreciative.

With a small smile, he picked the bottle of scotch they were drinking from under the table and motioned to Freed with it. When Freed lowered his glass slightly, Loke filled it and leant back in his chair, leaving the bottle on the table.

"Shit," Was what Loke started with, Freed nodding with a slightly bitter sounding chuckle. "You really think you like him?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Freed continued, sipping at his scotch. "I believe that my feelings for him are more compassionate than that of a platonic relationship, I enjoy his company more than I do with most people and, bluntly, I have started to feel physical attraction towards him. That's certainly not something I would feel about a friend, even less so with a colleague or an employee. So yes, I have some kind of romantic attraction towards him."

"Okay, that makes sense. I'm a little hurt you're not physically attracted to me, but we can talk about that later," Loke joked softly, Freed sending a smile. "Okay, so the reason you're panicked and worried is because you think it's inappropriate?"

Freed nodded a little, picking up his cards again and pushing a fairly large amount of chips to raise the bet to a high level. Loke matched it and placed his cards down, fully expecting to lose with the amount Freed had raised. True to his expectations, Loke found himself pushing his chips towards Freed and dealing a new hand of cards within a moment. He watched quietly when Freed organised his chips, not saying anything. Seeing this as confirmation that Freed wasn't going to verbally agree, Loke continued.

"Well, as I said before, that's not inappropriate or wrong," Loke said with sincerity. "Feelings are just feelings. If you ignore them or let them pass, then you've got nothing to worry about. If you wanna do something about them, that's not wrong either. You just need to make sure you do it the right way."

"You sound like Bickslow," Freed smiled a little. "He almost said exactly the same thing."

"See, then it's not just me saying it, so it must be true," Loke grinned. "If the main thing you're worried about is your feelings being inappropriate, all you need to do is make sure he feels comfortable about you. The only reason boss and employee relationships _can_ be weird is because the employee might feel forced into the relationship. So, if you do try and date him, just make sure he knows that it his choice as much as it is yours, that he doesn't need to do anything he doesn't want to, and that you'll stop flirting or whatever you're doing if he asks you."

After a moments consideration, Freed nodded and looked at the cards in his hands. Loke was right that he could feasibly date Laxus without it being considered weird or inappropriate, but his feelings still felt wrong. More so with the fact Laxus was going through his own troubles that made Freed's feelings seem petty in comparison.

Loke scrunched his brow slightly, glancing up at Freed after checking his cards. The bachelor credited himself as being someone who knew Freed better than most – playing poker with someone often meant you knew them, their mannerisms and how their mind worked well – so the fact Freed hadn't actually said anything confused Loke. A silent nod left the conversation open; if Freed wanted to stop talking about his feelings he would have left no room for anything else to say. The fact he hadn't meant that Freed wanted to say something else. Loke needed to do a little more probing.

"Out of interest, why do you know about your feelings now?" Loke said, pushing forward some chips. "Did something happen?"

"Not exactly," Freed began, matching and raising the bet by a sizable amount. "Last night, he came to my apartment feeling a little vulnerable and stayed the night. On my sofa bed. We talked for a little while and, once we were done, I felt closer to him. Then I realised that the closeness was romantic, I suppose."

Knowing that wasn't the whole truth – Freed had ended the statement with doubting himself, after all – Loke continued pushing. "Is that all?"

"No. Well, not exactly," Freed admitted with a small sigh, taking another sip of his scotch. "It's not right for me to go into detail, but the reason Laxus came to my apartment in the first place was because he's got some… personal issues happening in his life right now. They're obviously affecting him quite badly and having me, his boss of all people, trying to get him into a relationship he probably doesn't want to be in would be the last thing he needs. The fact that I realised these feelings while he told me about his problems, it makes it worse."

With Freed looking down again, Loke was now sure he got the entirety of the problem. He had felt a small amount of doubt that Freed's feelings for Laxus alone were troubling him to such a degree. Freed had dealt with crushes before and got over them, so it was slightly odd he would be so affected by having feelings for Laxus, even considering the circumstances. The context of his feelings explained why Freed was acting the way he was.

Seeing that Freed was avoiding eye contact and had finished speaking with such a certain statement, Loke didn't say anything. The two of them played a couple of rounds in silence, Freed ending up with more chips in his possession that Loke did. The tension was slightly lifted, and drinks were finished, but Loke still felt that Freed needed some comfort.

"You said Laxus was going through something and he was troubled, right? You seen just as bad, if not for a different reason," Loke spoke up again. "And, if Laxus is anything like you, both of you will continue to focus on what's bothering you and you'll drive yourself crazy."

"That's a fair assumption, I suppose," Freed said with a small nod, holding back a smile at the flush in his hand. "But why are you bringing that up?"

"In two weeks' time, one of my father's business associates is holding an event at the Grand Magnolian Library. A masquerade ball of all things," Loke chuckled, seeing Freed look up with a small frown. "It's the most cliché thing in the world, I know, but it's happening. Anyway, I grew up around his son and we're still quite close, he owes me a couple of favours. I'm more than happy to call them in so I can get the two of you some tickets?"

Freed frowned, looking up. "You want us to – considering what I just said – go to a party together?"

"Most people there will work for partnered companies, and it'll be more of a business opportunity than anything else. You don't need to worry about it being overly romantic," Loke assured him with a smile. "I just thought that you might like a night away from your issues with free champagne and food. You don't need to go, obviously, but the offer's there."

Thinking for a moment, Freed sighed. It was true that his mind would be preoccupied with both his feelings for Laxus and how inappropriate it was that he felt them when Laxus was going through the issues with his mother. If Laxus was just as focused with his issues as Freed was – which made sense, given how important his issue was in his life – then perhaps having a night away was what he needed. The idea of distancing himself from his issues, and indeed distancing him from himself if they were wearing masks, sounded pretty appealing and perhaps something Laxus would want as well.

Holding his scotch in his left hand and pushing forward some chips in his left, he considered the pros and the cons of the offer. Yes, the evening would perhaps be a good distraction for Laxus, but he might have wanted to focus on his troubled without any distraction at all. There was also the issue that spending time with Laxus in that way might have increased Freed's feelings. So there was just as much a risk as there was a reward. With both good aspects and bad to taking up the offer, Freed saw only one way of coming to a solution.

"When I gamble with you, I sometimes add an extra aspect to losing," Freed began, Loke frowning a little. "You give me more of a challenge than anyone else, so having more than money at stakes makes gambling with you more fun."

"Okay, I know you're going somewhere with this, and I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this already," Loke said slowly, grinning. "But when you say you add extra stakes, you don't mean-"

"They're in no way sexual or anything you'd be interested by," Freed said bluntly, Loke smirking and deciding he would bring this topic up at a later date. "One of the last times I lost to you, I brought my new car. I'd been considering it for some time and that was what pushed me into actually getting it; that is the kind of stakes I add. Anyway, what I was proposing was, if you win the next hand, I'll take up your offer and invite Laxus as well. If I win, then I won't."

"That makes sense," Loke grinned, though his mind was still preoccupied slightly as to what other stakes Freed had made for himself. "So, new hand then."

Loke picked up the stack of cards and, for fairness, quickly reshuffled them. He was half tempted to try and stack the cards in a way that would mean Freed would lose and would have to take up the offer, but Freed would inevitably see him doing it. Instead, he dealt them both a fair hand and hoped for his friend's sake that his hand would be better than Freed's. When he looked down and saw the nearly unbeatable straight flush, he didn't bother hiding his grin.

Freed saw this and looked down to see his middle-of-the-road hand, a straight. He placed his cards face up, fully expecting to lose given the smug expression on his opponent's face. His assumptions were soon confirmed when he saw the impressive hand Loke had.

"Well then, that settles it," Freed said with a small laugh in his voice. "I assume the dress code is formalwear with a mask of some kind. Is there anywhere you know to get appropriate masks you could direct me to?"

"I'll text you the address of the place I used when I went last year," Loke grinned. "I really do think you'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure we will. When's the date?"

"Next Saturday, starts at six in the evening. The tickets have all the information on it, I'll get them to you in a couple of days," Loke smiled.

Freed nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Loke was right, he was appreciative of any kind of break from his troubles, and he hardly ever went to the business-centric parties so had yet to share the same dislike that most attendees had. It would also give him some time with Laxus in a different environment and, for all he knew, perhaps he would realise that his feelings were a momentary crush and that he had nothing to worry about. He doubted that – most likely, bringing Laxus along as what was basically his date would worsen things – but it was a lie he would continue to tell himself.

Quickly opening his texts with Laxus, he began to type. He re-read the text after finishing it, hoping that both his intention of inviting Laxus was obvious and that it contained everything Laxus would need to know. Once happy with it, he sent it.

 **To: Laxus**

 _Hi. Sorry if I'm bothering you but one of my friends offered me some_

 _tickets for a masquerade ball at the Grand Magnolian Library. It's on_

 _Saturday the 4th and starts at six pm. I thought you might have enjoyed_

 _the distraction, but obviously feel free to say no. But the offer stands._

As he typed, he was unaware that Loke was looking at him with a grin. The bachelor could see quite clearly that Freed was smiling, a similar little smile that he had allowed to flash across his features for a split second when he had found out he had lost their bet. It was cute to see Freed acting like that, it was as love-struck as Loke suspected Freed would allow himself to be.

Loke just hoped that Freed wouldn't sabotage things for himself, because one thing was obvious. The feelings he had for Laxus weren't just a little crush.

* * *

 **~Elsewhere~**

Laxus found himself sitting at the dining-room table of his grandfather's kitchen. The only sound to be heard was Makarov slowly moving around his cupboards, pouring them both a cup of lemon tea without saying a word. The blonde had been inside his grandfather's apartment for around five minutes and there was a sense of awkward tension between them both that was practically palpable. Despite being uncomfortable with this, Laxus wasn't sure if he could bring himself to be the first one to speak.

Although he had intended to go straight to Makarov's apartment after leaving Freed's, he had ended up arriving in the late evening. He'd visited his own apartment for a change of clothes but ended up lying on his bed and sleeping most of the afternoon away; the previous day had been exhausting after all.

When he'd woken up, he immediately left to see his grandfather before the man's imagination got the better of him as to why he hadn't appeared immediately. They'd exchanged a few words at the door, where Makarov had invited him in and told him they should talk about what had happened. Laxus had agreed and they'd walked to the kitchen in silence, with Makarov immediately going to make the drinks and Laxus sitting at the table; it almost felt like he was a kid being scolded again, even if he was in the right in that situation.

"Here," Makarov said softly, placing a mug of lemon tea before him.

Laxus carefully picked up the mug and cradled it with both hands, feeling the importance of the situation again. Talking with Freed, he had almost been able to distract himself from what had happened, and he'd been forcing himself not to think about it while alone. Obviously, Makarov wasn't going to let that happen.

"I know that you're probably angry at me," Makarov continued, taking the seat opposite from Laxus. "And I know that I shouldn't have given her your address, or done anything, without talking to you beforehand. But when she came here, she really did seem as though she felt bad and I wasn't sure if you'd even consider talking to her, so I thought that maybe if I told her where you lived then maybe you'd see what I did and would be able to feel that she felt bad about what had happened."

Looking at his grandfather, it was obvious that Makarov felt bad. Honestly, Laxus didn't think he had anything to feel bad for. He clearly did think he was doing the right thing – and he was almost definitely correct that Laxus wouldn't have agreed to speak to her – so why should he feel bad?

"You don't need to apologise," Laxus sighed. "You did what ya thought was right, can't really be blamed for that. And I ain't really angry at you. Its just that, like before, she's not around so I can't be angry at the right person."

"It didn't go well then?" Makarov asked, silently relieved his grandson didn't think less of him for what he'd done.

"Not at all," Laxus let out a single, annoyed laugh. "I mean, it nearly did, I guess. She started off saying she felt bad and wanted to make it up to me, probably what she told you as well. I got angry because she came out of nowhere and wanted to be forgiven, so I started to yell at her. Kinda blurry really, but that's pretty much what happened. Maybe I was too harsh on her, at least at the start."

Makarov nodded. Laxus, like almost all of the Dreyar's, was a passionate person who could sometimes let himself be ruled by his emotions. The older man could hardly blame him for being angry with Sophia for turning up unannounced and expecting a warm welcome; he wouldn't admit it, but Makarov had also exchanged some choice words with her, specifically about her parenting skills and how little respect she had given her son. Laxus didn't need to know that, however, as it might have made matters worse if he did.

"Then she said that we both could have made more of an effort, or something like that, which pissed me off," Laxus grasp around the mug tightened slightly. "I kind of exploded at her after that."

"With every justification," Makarov said, voice louder and portraying the annoyance he felt. "She was trying to blame you because she couldn't pick up a phone or get on a plane? No child of that age should have to fight – or make any kind of an effort – to see their parents. Parents should just… just be there for you."

Laxus smiled at that, though there was a small semblance of sadness to it. With his mother in another country and his father in jail more times than not throughout his childhood, he didn't have that kind of relationship with his parents. He was just lucky to have Makarov to pick up the slack.

As the blonde lifted the tea to his lips, Makarov calmed himself slightly. During his short conversation with Sophia, she had seemed willing to take the blame herself – as she should, as it was her decision to leave and stop contact – which was the final reason he ended up giving her Laxus' address. He had thought that, even if the two of them didn't end up having any kind of relationship, he could at least know that his mother felt regret for what had happened. Obviously, that wasn't what had happened.

Although the silence remained, the tension had been lifted between them both. Makarov felt a mixture of relief that Laxus had forgiven him for going behind his back, and anger at what Sophia had said. Laxus just felt drained, it had yet been twenty-four hours, after all.

"I went to your apartment last night," Makarov spoke up again. "I wanted to make sure you were okay, but you weren't there. You didn't go to a bar, did you?"

Laxus rolled his eyes. "Gramps-"

"I know you had a rough day and you're entitled to drink from time to time," Makarov continued, cutting his grandson off. "But since you've had this new job, you've managed to keep away from drinking too much and I just don't want you going back to how you were before."

"Gramps!" Laxus spoke loudly to cut him off. "I didn't go to a bar. Thought about it but didn't. I, erm, I actually went to Freed's place."

"Your boss?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to someone, Mira was busy with Cana and he was the first person I thought of," Laxus said, slightly self-consciously. He understood that it could look a little weird to go to his boss for help, but the amount of time they'd spent together had made them closer to friends than colleagues. "We talked about what happened and I think it kinda helped, actually."

Makarov smiled at that, glad that Laxus had more of a coping mechanism than simply turning to alcohol. He didn't believe his grandson had every drunk to a dangerous level, but there had been instances where Laxus had ended his day in the bar every night of the week. Makarov hadn't heard of anything close to that happening after he had taken his new job, something which made him that little bit happier.

He was also glad that Laxus and Freed seemed to be getting along. Although he had only met Freed for the briefest of moments, Makarov had heard from Mirajane that he was the right fit for Laxus and that they could become good friends if both wanted it. Perhaps that was already happening.

"Well," Makarov smiled. "I'm glad that you could talk to him. It went well then?"

"Pretty well, yeah," Laxus had a ghost of a smile as he spoke. "He was pretty patient with me. Let me rant about what happened and how I was feeling. Well, it was more like I unloaded everything I didn't manage to say to her onto him, but he didn't stop me. Actually gave me a bit of advice about what I should do."

"What did he say?"

"That, even though I was angry and what she said was wrong, that maybe I should give her another chance," Laxus said with a small sigh. "And that this might not happen again, so I should at least try to hear her out. Still not sure if I will or not."

Makarov bit his tongue for a moment, before quickly admitting. "I think I agree with him."

"You do?" Laxus asked, slightly shocked given the anger Makarov had shown at what Sophia had said.

"Even though the idea of you being even slightly to blame for what happened is ridiculous and I don't, for a second, believe that she had any right to say that," Makarov assured him, cupping his own mug of tea. "What Freed said is right. She might go back, and this opportunity will go with her, I don't want to see you kicking yourself in ten or twenty years because this is the only opportunity you had to get some kind of relationship with her, but you didn't take it."

Laxus remained silent for a short time, thinking it over. He supposed it was true, his mother was reaching out to him for the first time and there was no guarantee that it would happen again. And, even if he did try and talk to her but it turned out she was just as selfish as Laxus imagined, at least he would have closure on the matter.

With a short sigh, Laxus finished the rest of the tea he had been drinking and placed it on the table. He knew that if both Freed and his grandfather agreed he should try and be civil to her, and that if he himself wasn't entirely sure about it, then maybe it was the best thing to do.

"You think you'll last ten or twenty more years," Was what Laxus eventually ended up saying, smirking slightly. "Kinda optimistic."

"You're not too old to get a smack around the head, ya know," Makarov snapped, but was smiling.

"I guess so," Laxus grinned. "But d'you really think you can reach that high up?"

Makarov didn't reply but gave an expression that was clearly challenging Laxus to continue. The blonde simply grinned, glad that the tension between them seemed to have dissipated completely. Makarov, also glad of this, stood up and took both his and Laxus' mug. As he placed them in the empty dishwasher, he glanced over his shoulder towards his grandson.

Despite being aware that Laxus had spent almost all afternoon being asleep, he had slight bags under his arms. He was probably more emotionally exhausted than actually tired, but Makarov felt as though he should help the younger man. Call it parental instinct.

"Well, as you've had a bit of a trying day, I suppose you deserve this," Makarov smiled, Laxus looking up. "I think I've got enough stuff for Solyanka, if you want it?"

"That really a question you need to ask?" Laxus grinned, stomach yearning at the sound of one of his favourite meals; a Russian soup he'd had for supper on the colder days of his childhood.

With a grin, Makarov began to manoeuvre his way around his kitchen while getting the needed ingredients for the meal. Watching his grandfather potter around the kitchen with mild amusement, Laxus allowed his mind to wonder as the smell of the different foods combining together invaded his senses. With the aroma of his childhood now taking over, he thought back over his issue with his mother with a calmness that he had yet to experience since seeing her the night before.

Makarov had said he should give his mother a final chance. Freed had said he should give his mother a second chance. Even he had thought there was logic in giving her a final chance. It seemed that all signs were pointing towards that option as what he should do. And, if he was being honest with himself, having an actual mother in his life would have been nice.

With a quiet groan that was drowned out by the sound of the bubbling water in the pot Makarov was working on, Laxus made his decision. He tapped his fingers against the table in a way to make up the nerve to bring himself to ask Makarov to organise a meeting – assuming Makarov had a way of doing that, of course. It took a little time and left him with a slight feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach, but he eventually sealed his fate.

"D'you have a way to talk to her," He asked, Makarov turning towards him. "Don't make a big deal about it, might change my mind. Just, if you do, organise a meeting with her. At a café or somewhere, so I don't yell and make a scene."

"Sure," Makarov smiled. "And I really do think it's for the-" Makarov cut himself off when he saw the slight glare his grandson was giving him. "Okay. Saturday afternoon good for you?"

"Not this Saturday, I'm working. All day thing, so I won't be able to make it back," Laxus said, running a hand through his hair. "The week after I should be fine."

"Sure, I'll set it up for you," Makarov smiled a little. "I'll call you when I've done it."

"Thanks."

Laxus gave his grandfather a small smile before he leant back in his chair and took his phone from his pocket; he'd kept it there and turned it off, so his attention wouldn't be distracted from his grandfather. He switched it on at the same time Makarov began to place the soup in the bowl, the food smelling just as warm and comforting as it had when he was a child. He grinned as the bowl was placed before him as well, it even looked the same. Makarov wasn't the best cook, but he was weirdly talented when making food from Russia. Laxus absently wondered if Makarov's grandmother, who had been Russian, had taught him how to cook.

The driver began to carefully eat the steaming soup, glancing at his phone when it finally turned itself on. He blew on a spoonful as the device slowly connected to Makarov's annoyingly slow internet, glancing towards it as he saw a text flash up.

 **From: Freed**

 _Hi. Sorry if I'm bothering you but one of my friends offered me some_

 _tickets for a masquerade ball at the Grand Magnolian Library. It's on_

 _Saturday the 4th and starts at six. I thought you might have enjoyed_

 _the distraction, but obviously feel free to say no. But the offer stands._

He frowned a little at the offer. It had certainly come from nowhere, and the idea of attending an actual masquerade ball was insane to say the least; Laxus expected that they only occurred in period dramas if he was honest. But the distraction would do him good, and the idea of going to a party where he would be treated as though he was a rich guy was appealing.

After reading the text again to make sure it was an invitation – he was Freed's driver, it would be understandable if Freed was just requesting to be driven there for the night – he noticed the date. If it the party was on the fourth of August, that meant it would have been the same day he had requested Makarov organise a meeting with his mother. If the party started at six, it was possible for him to go to both if he was considerate with his timekeeping.

He didn't consider rescheduling the time for the meeting even if Makarov hadn't contacted her yet – he knew himself well enough to know that, once he changed the date once, he would do it again and keeping putting it off – and the idea of going to a masquerade ball with Freed sounded… fun.

"Gramps," Laxus said slowly, placing his phone down again. "Hypothetically, if I were to be offered something that I think I want, but the timing isn't great, should I try and take it before the opportunity goes."

Makarov frowned a little, looking up from his meal. "This is something you want?"

"Yeah. I think I do."

"Well, if that's the case, then I say go for it," Makarov grinned. "Obviously, if it'll mess up something important, then don't risk it. But, if timing is the only thing standing in your way, I'd say you should just do it."

Laxus nodded, silently taking another mouthful of his soup. There was no real risk to it, even if he did end up running out of time because of his meeting with his mother, he imagined Freed wouldn't hold it against him if he had to cancel at the last minute. It wasn't as if he was constantly letting Freed down, so one last minute cancelation wasn't going to get him fired. He picked his phone up and gave a quick reply.

 **To: Freed**

 _Sounds pretty nice. Thanks for offering it to me. Coujld do with the_

 _distraction so itll be good. You might have to help me finding a mask_

 _or a suit that looks good. But yeah, happy to go._

After sending the text, he noticed that Makarov was looking at with him curiosity. The blonde took in another large spoonful of his soup, raising his eyebrow in reply to the curious expression he received. Makarov quickly swallowed the food he was chewing on before answering.

"I just wondered what this opportunity was," Makarov explained. "If you're not going to be all mysterious about it."

"Nah, I won't. Freed offered to get me tickets to masquerade ball," Laxus explained after finishing his own mouthful. "Its on the same day that I asked for you to set the meeting up. It's at six, so if we meet early enough in the afternoon it shouldn't matter."

Makarov nodded. "I'll tell her you want to meet at one," He took another spoonful of his soup and smiled. "You seem to be getting along well with your boss, that's good."

Laxus chuckled a little at the observation. It wasn't as if his grandfather and him talked often, and it also wasn't like he never stopped talking about Freed. The fact that Makarov had been able to identify that they were getting along with the little information he had about the two of them showed just how well Makarov knew him. Laxus took another bite of his meal before he continued speaking.

"We spend a lot of time in the car together. He's a nice guy, so I guess we do get along well."

"Well that's good," Makarov said, hiding his grin behind a spoon. "You know, I couldn't help but notice the time I saw him that, well, he's quite a good-looking lad, don't you think?"

"Gramps." Laxus began in a warning tone.

"I'm not saying anything, Laxus," Makarov smiled. "All I mean is that you're getting along well with a wealthy and handsome man that you spend a lot of time with and are going to a masquerade ball with. Just a statement of fact, nothing more."

There was a short silence between the two of them, during which Laxus went back to his meal. Makarov couldn't stop the grin from stretching across his face. He hadn't been inferring that Laxus had any feelings for his boss, simply put he wanted to tease his grandson. Obviously, it had worked, and perhaps he had stumbled across a juicy bit of gossip about the younger man.

Although he didn't show it, Laxus was taken back to the exchange he'd had with Freed earlier in the day, if it could be called that. He wasn't entirely sure what had come over him when, just as he was about to leave, he had complimented his boss. It hadn't been something he planned to do, he simply found himself saying it. He laughed a little, remembering how awkward the compliment had been. The blonde didn't have a smooth bone in his body, it seemed.

"I said his hair was good this morning," Laxus admitted with a small chuckle. "He'd done it in a different way, looked pretty good. So I told him."

"Oh did you now," Makarov grinned. "It was platonic, I'm sure."

"Oh yeah, sure," Laxus said with a small amount of amusement in his voice. "I ain't the kind of guy who tries to flirt with his boss."

The conversation ended there. Though, as they ate, they shared a small grin with a mischievous gaze as they both found amusement in the fact they were both aware of how utterly bullshit the last statement was.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Meeting Point

**I'm back again, and I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. It's a pretty important chapter, I think, and it worked out better than I thought it would. So I hope you all like it and it makes you excited for the next one. Also, I have a Tumblr: eryis-creydull.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen – The Meeting Point**

Looking outside, Laxus had to wonder if fate really was directly influencing his life. A heavy rainstorm was battering down on the paved streets of Magnolia, forcing everybody unlucky enough to be outside to hide under thick coats and umbrellas in a weak attempt to keep themselves dry. Moments ago, Laxus and Cana had been part of that group, before they retreated into a roadside café, sat themselves at a window-side table and removed their sodden coats. As Laxus rather forlornly looked out of the window, Cana had walked to the counter and was ordering them both a drink and something to eat.

To say Laxus had a busy day was an understatement. As instructed, Makarov had organised a meeting for him and his mother on the fourth of august, the same day he was going to a masquerade party with Freed. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but, as he sat in the café thirty minutes before his mother was scheduled to arrive, Laxus considers the possibility that his scheduling might have been a mistake.

That's what happens when you're stubborn, he supposed.

Drawing his gaze from the rain-soaked streets, he looked towards Cana. She claimed that she'd only joined him because Mira was busy, and she wanted something to do, but Laxus anticipated she was actually there for moral support. He was thankful for it, but he would only admit that if Cana admitted her reasoning for coming first.

"Here," Cana said, placing two large mugs of coffee, one black while the other filled with cream, on the table. "You owe me six dollars, got you a tuna melt as well."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded, picking up the cream filled coffee. "I'll get it to you later."

"You ain't gonna call me cheap?" Cana looked towards him with a slight amount of confusion, though it was mixed with amusement. "So, either I need to crank up my demands and make you pay for my next haircut 'cause you wouldn't be a gentleman and give me your umbrella which screwed up my hair, or you're actually nervous about this."

Laxus looked up from his steaming coffee with a slight amount of amusement in his eyes, before he smirked. "Wasn't my fault you didn't check to see if it was raining before you left your place."

"And it wasn't my fault you're an asshole," Cana retorted with an equal smirk.

Laxus shrugged, his smirk slowly turning back to a neutral expression as he sipped at his coffee. He supposed that he was nervous, for more reasons than one. Not only was he meeting with his mother for the first time since they'd argued in front of his apartment, which meant there'd defiantly be a lot of tension between them when she eventually arrived, but he'd also been wrestling with his feelings with Freed.

Again.

It was just as taxing, confusing and aggravating as before. And later that day, he was going to a party with the damn guy. Needless to say, the result of his poor scheduling had his mind in a less that clear place.

He looked up absently as a waiter brought two plates from the back room towards them, handing Laxus a tuna melt and Cana a BLT. Cana thanked the server while Laxus picked up his food and took a large bite. He coughed around the mouthful after Cana kicked him under the table, glaring at him. He quickly swallowed his bite and looked towards the waiter.

"Thanks," Laxus muttered, nodding.

After the man claimed it was no problem and walked away, Laxus picked up his meal again and took another bite. As he glanced up, he saw Cana looking at him with inquisitive and almost analysing eyes, which made him sigh to himself. He and Cana, despite what an observer may think after seeing the two of them together, were pretty close friends, so it was understandable that she might be worried about him. But he couldn't help but get somewhat annoyed by the expression, he wasn't a kid who needed his friends looking after him. And anyway, the only person who could pull that expression off in Laxus' opinion was Freed.

He quickly tried to shake his boss out of his mind. He didn't want to think about Freed until the meeting with his mother was over; there was only so many ridiculous issues that he could deal with at one time.

Eventually, Cana must have gotten bored by trying to get a sense of Laxus' emotions. She picked up her over-stacked sandwich and began to eat it, though her eyes continually looked towards Laxus whenever she thought he wouldn't notice. After a few moments, Laxus started to get annoyed by the lack of subtlety, so placed his food down and leant on a fist.

"What?" He grunted, watching as Cana also put her sandwich on its plate.

"Just wondered how you're feeling," Cana didn't seem deterred by the attitude of her companion. Instead, she had a slightly compassionate expression. "Like, I don't know, are you nervous or excited or whatever?"

"Nervous, I guess," Laxus sighed, cupping one hand around his coffee and gently tapping his fingers against the cup. "I feel like it's just gonna end up biting me on the ass, y'know. Like, we'll end up yelling again or something, I don't know. Guess I'm just worried that yelling is all we can ever do with each other, like that's it. That make any sense?"

"Yeah, I get that," Cana grinned. "But try not to go in thinking like that. You don't wanna ruin it by being a pessimistic asshole."

Laxus chuckled a little, picking up his coffee again and taking a large gulp of it. He knew she was right, annoyingly, and that it was very possible that he could sabotage their meeting by assuming that it would end badly. He wasn't entirely to blame for having such a reaction, though. Given his past experiences with his mother, none of which seemed to end well if his memory served him correctly, it was fair that he entered the situation with some reserved pessimism. He didn't voice this, however, and instead started to eat his tuna-melt again.

With a small smile, Cana looked back to her own food. They ate in silence, though it was gentle enough for neither to feel awkward. The soft chatter of the café's other customers helped them, and it gave Laxus the effect that he had wanted. If nothing else, it would be unlikely he and his mother would get into a screaming match, for no other reason than not making a scene.

"You know, a couple months ago, I would have had to force a couple scotch's down your throat to get any emotions out of ya," Cana teased again. "You're growing up. So proud."

"Fuck off," Laxus grinned a little. "And I guess it's because I'm around Freed a lot more. No point in being cagey around someone who knows when you're lying."

Cana chuckled and nodded, though was quietly shocked by the flippancy of Laxus' words. Although she had said it in jest, it was true that, once, Laxus had been reliant on alcohol to take himself into a vulnerable state. The fact he was admitting things that previously would have gone unspoken only months before, and acknowledging the change openly, was a bit of a shock to the brunette. A good one, though.

"Speaking of your boss, you're going to a party with him tonight, right?" She continued, smiling. "Looking forward to it?"

"Yeah, I am actually," Laxus nodded slightly, not realising a small reddening had occurred on his cheeks. "Just glad to be doing something that ain't about my mom, you know. Glad to have a break from it, something that ain't stupidly dramatic."

"I get that," Cana nodded, taking another bite out of her BLT. "Mira helped you out with the suit, right? So even if your night craps out, least you'll be looking good."

The reddening on his cheeks got a little more obvious, although thankfully for a different reason than before; he never had been all that good at taking compliments. Cana laughed at him when she saw the expression, something which he tried not to focus on as it would inevitably lead to further blushing. It was a harsh cycle.

He was just thankful the conversation was drifting away from Freed again, because he knew that Cana would approach that subject with as much subtlety as a hungry dog eating a freshly cooked steak; it wasn't the best simile, but the point remained that she wouldn't exactly be calm if she found out about his potential feelings. In fact, she would be insufferable, and he really wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with the amount of teasing the occasional-drunkard could give out.

"Guess so. Tell her I'll make it up to her, since it took longer than we thought," Laxus said, taking the last bite out of his sandwich.

"Doubt you need to. She said it was nice having an afternoon with you. Don't see it myself, you're an ass to be around," Cana grinned. "Although, you took her away from me for like half a day, so I think you should make it up to me. Compensation for the lack of girlfriend time."

"Girlfriend time? What are ya, fifteen?" Laxus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You see each other all the time anyway, what's one afternoon?"

Glancing up again, Cana had the smallest of smiles on her face. She knew that Laxus had intended to tease her – and admittedly, the two of them did spend a lot of time with each other – but it didn't land as intended. It simply reminded her that she wanted to spend every afternoon with Mirajane. Which in turn made her question why she was hanging out with the asshole, but she wasn't so mean that she would leave the poor, emotional mess of a blonde on his own when he was dealing with his infinitely more-of-an-asshole mother.

"Well, blondie, maybe one day you'll find someone who makes you act all clingy," Cana grins. "'cause it'll happen. If you can trick them into liking you, of course."

"Funny," Laxus deadpanned. "And I ain't the kind of guy who's gonna want to spend every hour or every day with someone."

"You think I am? I'm not, like, co-dependant or anything," At Cana's words, Laxus raised a doubting eyebrow. "I'm not! Just, like, before I got with Mira I was happy sitting in my apartment doing nothing on my own. Now, whenever I have to do that now, I always think that it'd be better if Mira was with me. I don't need to spend every second with her – sometimes I don't even want to – but I always think that things would be better with her, y'know. Least to me, that's what I think a good relationship is."

"Sweet. But d'you really think I'm the kinda guy who'll end up feeling like that with someone?" Laxus chuckled slightly. "Have to say, kinda doubt it."

"Well, never say never. Maybe it's already happening but you don't know it. I mean, you've been out with your boss a lot, right," Cana had a small smirk on her face, Laxus frowning. "You've been hanging out with each other for a couple months, that's what me and Mira did before we got together."

At this, Laxus tensed quite obviously. He had indulged himself in the conversation with Cana about his relationship as it offered him a distraction from the stress about meeting his mother – something that he had undergone throughout the previous week – and it was offering him a small amount of amusement. He didn't expect Freed to be brought up – as far as he was concerned, the only person who might guess he had any kind of feelings for Freed was Makarov – so had seen no risk. Obviously, he had been mistaken.

He didn't reply, which got Cana to look up from her drink in confusion. She had brought up Laxus' boss to tease him, simply for the fact she wanted to see him blush a little more. But, before she could annoyingly suggest the party they'd go to was a date, she noticed Laxus' sudden tension.

It took her a few seconds to realise what the tension meant, but her eye bulged out a little when she did. Laxus noticed this, must have realised both what Cana's intentions had been and then what he had just revealed, and blushed. Cana didn't say anything for a moment, taken aback. Sure, the few times she'd seen the two men together she'd noted that they were closer than Laxus normally got with people, but she wouldn't have thought the reason was because they had feelings for each other. Or, Laxus at least had some kind of feelings for Freed.

After a moment, Cana spoke again. "Really?"

Laxus continued looking away from Cana's eyeline. He really had hoped to avoid Freed coming up in conversation – part of his single insanely badly timed issue at a time rule – but obviously that couldn't happen. Because not only was Freed in the conversation, Cana also knew why he would have wanted to avoid talking about him.

"Maybe," He grunted a little, glaring into his coffee. "I don't know, it's confusin'. I don't really wanna talk about it. There's kind of a lot going on today, this is the last thing I need really."

Cana nodded, seeing his point. The quiet returned between them both, however there was a small sense of tension between them. Cana knew that the tension wasn't aimed at her directly, simply that she had stumbled on something that Laxus wasn't ready to talk about, and he'd always been cagey about his privacy. Cana wasn't going to be offended, and she wasn't going to pry any more than needed, but she was curious.

Things made sense, with this. The fact that Laxus had gone to Freed after his argument with his mother had confused Cana – yes, she and Mira had been busy, but they honestly would be okay with the disruption given the circumstances – but this made sense. In some capacity, Laxus felt a bond with Freed that was unique to the two of them, so there was logic in the decision.

She went about finishing her sandwich, trying not to worry about her friend. The day really was going to be long for the blonde. Not only was he meeting with his mother, who Cana had only heard bad things about, but he was also going to a party with the guy he might have a crush on. It couldn't have been a date, Laxus wasn't forward enough for that and he probably would have been more boastful if there was actually some kind of relationship. She just hoped that going to the party wouldn't bite Laxus on the ass somehow.

The tension was soon getting too much for her and she needed to get rid of it; if only just to put Laxus in a better mood. She leant forward with a smile, getting Laxus' attention. He still looked a little nervous, but Cana hoped she could fix that.

"Well, blondie, looks like you've got a type then," Cana smirked, hoping to take the severity out of Laxus' potential feelings.

"What d'you mean by that?" Laxus asked, clearly expecting to be the punchline of some kind of joke.

"Good looking guys with long hair," Cana continued, smiling. "I mean I get that guys aren't really my forte or whatever, but Freed's pretty good looking, and obviously he's got long hair. And that guy you used to date, you used to work with him. He was pretty hot too, and long hair."

"Gajeel?" Laxus frowned, though seemed to be glad the joke wasn't at his expense. Not with any cruelty, anyway. "I mean we fucked around a bit, but I don't think we ever dated."

"Really?" Cana chuckled. "Well, you still got a type. Glad to see you know what you want in a man."

"Guess so," Laxus let out a single laugh. He hadn't really thought about that. He smiled a little, making Cana relax in her seat. "Thanks for not making a big deal out of it. I know it's kinda come out of nowhere, and it's probably stupid, but I appreciate you not freaking out."

"No problem. I ain't evil," Cana grinned. Laxus raised an eyebrow, to which Cana placed a hand over her heart to feign offense. "You do realise that the second Mira knows this, she will literally blow up, right?"

Laxus nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, you better make sure you don't annoy me, 'cause you've just given me a bomb to drop on ya."

With a small nod and chuckle, Laxus leant back. He finished his coffee and the waiter collected their used plates and mugs. They both ordered another drink, Laxus checking his phone to see that only twenty minutes had passes since they had arrived, despite it feeling like a significantly longer time. But that meant his mother was meant to be there in around ten minutes, which filled him with the same kind of nervousness that their conversation had suppressed. He started to tap his fingers against the table again because of this but told himself that meeting with her was for the best and that he would regret it if he ran out on it.

As they waited, Cana kept Laxus in a light conversation but noticed he had folded in on himself again. When Laxus asked how long Cana planned to stay, she knew that his nervousness had come back in full force. She assured him she would stay as long as he needed, though in not such eloquent wording.

Time passed and, faster than Laxus expected, the ten minutes had ended and the time scheduled had come. More importantly, Sophia Dreyar had yet to arrive. Cana noticed that Laxus get even more self-contained when that happened, so tried to assure him that she was probably stuck in traffic, hadn't been able to find her way to the café, or that she simply hadn't managed her time correctly. Laxus had half heartedly agreed that Cana's suggestions were probably correct, but they both know he could quite believe it.

The longer time elapsed, the more Cana began to worry. After fifteen minutes it was harder to believe that traffic or poor time management was to blame, and surely anyone who cared enough would have a basic idea of where the café was. She was starting to worry that Sophia wasn't coming.

Across the table, it was obvious Laxus had the same worries. He pulled out his phone and saw that he had no notifications. He wasn't sure if his mother had gained his contact details from Makarov, but even if she didn't she could have contacted him through his grandfather. His hand clenched around his phone slightly, dread filling his stomach. Why wasn't she there? Why hadn't she gotten in contact? Why had she done this again?

More time passed, Sophia had yet to show her face. Conversation had ended; Laxus had completely retreated to his own thoughts and Cana could do nothing but be there if he needed, and deal with the waiting staff, who could sense Laxus wasn't in the mood to talk. She couldn't stop looking at Laxus, his face was stoic but there was obvious a storm of emotions going through his head.

Where the hell was she?

After another twenty minutes, Laxus checked his phone. Still nothing, and thirty-five minutes had passed since she should have been there. His confusion, hurt and regret had all twisted into anger. She had given him hope and left him down again. She had messed with his head again. She'd fucked him around. Again!

"Fucks sake!" He yelled.

Standing up, he grabbed his coat and slung it over his shoulders. He stormed out of the cafe without saying another word¸ ignoring the eyes of every other patron in the café looking towards him. The door slammed against the wall as he walked through it, striding into the heavy rain with an expression of anger painted on his face.

Cana quickly followed, sending an apologetic look towards the nearest worker as she closed the door. She looked around, seeing that Laxus had stormed across the road and was walking down the sidewalk with his head low and body-language obviously angered.

She quickly ran after him, putting a hand up to a car that had to stop suddenly to avoid hitting her. The man driving made a gesture that, on a normal day, would have gotten her into an argument with him, but Laxus was more important. She jogged up the sidewalk, wincing when a loud crackle of thunder rumbled around the sky. It seemed as though the weather really was reflective of Laxus' emotions, something she had joked about as they were waiting for Sophia to show up.

"Laxus," She yelled over the sound of the rain. "Come on man, wait up. We need to talk about this."

The blonde spun around when Cana caught up, and she couldn't tell if the water on his cheeks was form the rain or was from his tears. Either way, the stoic façade had fallen, and he looked distraught, angry and betrayed. Cana tried not to let her face show any sympathy, Laxus wouldn't appreciate that, but it was hard not to feel sorry for him.

"Talk about it, huh? Sure, we can talk about it," Laxus practically yelled, though Cana knew the anger wasn't directed at her. "Because there's a whole lot of things that I wanna know! Like, what is it about me that just seems to drive people away from me? Because pretty much every fucking person who's meant to be there for me more than anyone else just leaves. Or hurts me. Or just fucks me over again and again!"

"Come on Laxus…" Was all Cana could say before Laxus continued.

"I mean my mother, she left the entire fucking continent when I was a kid and didn't take me with her. Must have done something or she would have taken me with here, right?" Laxus' voice got louder. "And fucking Ivan, I mean what kind of father does this to his own sons face!"

Laxus motioned to the jagged scar over his eye, voice still getting louder. Passers-by were glancing at them, some looking with distain, but neither Laxus nor Cana payed any mind to them.

"Ivan was a drunk, Laxus," Cana tried to remain calm. "You had nothing to do with that, he's just a bad person. And you did nothing wrong with your mother. I mean, even after Ivan did that to you, she stayed with him. Kept you with him. And even after all that, you gave her a chance and she throws it back at you."

"But why?" Laxus yelled, the thunder booming again. "Am I that fucking bad? Is there something that just makes it impossible to love me or something? What is it?"

"Laxus, it isn't you! Trust me," Cana took Laxus hand, forcing eye contact. "You got stuck with crappy parents who you didn't deserve, but that doesn't mean anything that happened is your fault and it defiantly doesn't make you unlovable. Just because those assholes don't treat you right, doesn't mean everyone's gonna be like that. Your granddad loves you, obviously. He wouldn't have looked after you if he didn't. Me and Mira do too. It must be shit, and you might not wanna believe it, but people care."

Laxus fell into silence, and the rain was the only thing they could hear. They were both soaked to the bone as Laxus pushed his hair out of his eyes. His chest was heaving slightly, and expression had fallen to something of exhaustion. He ran his hand through his hair again, and Cana could see his eyes were slightly bloodshot and red.

Defiantly crying.

"You're right," Laxus' voice croaked a little as he spoke. His voice, too, had the anger replaced with exhaustion. "I know. I-I gotta go home. I've gotta get ready for tonight and-"

"Tonight?" Cana asked, frowning. "Laxus, you can't seriously wanna go to a party tonight. Not to be harsh or anything, but you're a mess right now. I don't think you can really handle-"

"I'm not letting her do this again, Cana," Laxus grunted. Cana hated it when Laxus used her name, they only did that in serious situations. "That- that fucking woman messed up so much of my childhood and she's not doing it again! This is the firsts time I've felt normal and, well, like I'm doing something productive with my life in years, and she comes in and just fucks me around again. But I'm not letting her do it anymore, because I have more than her now. Freed, Makarov, you. That's what matters now, and she can't stop that."

"I get that. But you're not in a good place," Cana tried to insist. "D'you think you can really pretend you're okay for the night?"

"Who gives a shit? Seriously, that woman is done for me now! She has… nothing in my life is gonna be dictated by her, by Ivan, anymore," Laxus turned. "I gotta go. Thanks for sitting with me."

As Laxus started to walk away, Cana could do nothing but watch. The conviction he had spoken with, the venom in his words as he mentioned his parents, she knew he meant what he said. But it was a bad idea, Laxus was never as open as he was in that moment, there was no way he could deal with going to a party for the whole night, in an environment he was unfamiliar with no less. But Laxus was quickly walking away, he would soon be getting lost in the sea of umbrellas and overcoats, so Cana forcefully started to push herself through the mess of people.

Laxus was alone in his mind. This was what had to happen. Who was she to treat him like that? He couldn't live his life worrying about her, about the crappy parents he was given. He was a grown-ass-adult and he needed to act like it. He had a life, had friends, had a family. They were important, not Sophia and Ivan.

"Laxus," He heard Cana shout from behind him as he turned a corner. "Wait up!"

He didn't hear her. His childhood wasn't going to hold him for ransom anymore. He had a future that, for all he knew, was starting now. His childhood was just a footnote of his life, this was the main event. He wasn't going to be the little kid waiting for his mom to call anymore, he was going to be the man who lived as well as he could.

"Dude," Cana continued. "Dude, seriously."

Tonight was the start. He was going to go to the high-class party and, even if it was just for a night, live the life his parents could never offer him. Maybe once it was over, he'd call Mira or Cana and assure them he was fine. Maybe he'd call his real guardian and just talk with him, give Makarov the attention and respect the old man deserved. He could do anything, and it would be unburdened by the pressure of his crappy parents.

"Come on," Cana said with futility as the thunder boomed and lighting split apart the sky. "Laxus."

He didn't know what he was going to do from that point. He had no idea. But he did know this was the turning point. He knew that his new life was meant to start at that party. It was meant to start with Freed.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Masquerade

**Hello everyone. This is a pretty long chapter, the longest one so far, so I hope you all enjoy it. And after the last chapter, I've treated Laxus a little in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy that.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen – The Masquerade**

 **From: Freed**

 _Hi. I should be outside of your apartment in a few minutes, just so_

 _you're not taken unaware. I've also got more than one mask with_

 _me, so you have some choice over the matter. I'll see you in a few_

 _minutes._

Drawing his eyes away from his mirror, Laxus pulled his phone from his back pocket and quickly read through the text he'd received. He had been standing in his bathroom after adorning his suit – a blue and black three-piece fit with a chain on the waistcoat – combing his hair and covering it with enough hairspray to keep it slicked back throughout the night. Looking at himself in the formalwear that, just months prior, he wouldn't have been able to afford gave him a slight lift in mood; a relief, since he hadn't been able to distract himself from the earlier events of the day since he'd arrived home at his apartment.

After leaving Cana in the rain, which he felt guilty about despite knowing she wouldn't take it personally, he'd walked around for a while as he stewed in his anger. Eventually, he'd returned home to shower and ready himself for the party. Despite managing to make himself look as though his day had been normal, his mind had constantly flickered back to his mother.

Silently scolding himself, he unlocked his phone and went to reply to the message. He'd promised himself that, form this point, he wasn't going to let his mother affect his life like she had before, he wasn't breaking that promise.

 **To: Freed**

 _Ok. Can you come to the door instead of using the horn. Upstairs_

 _neighbour doesn't like me and probably would use it to get me_

 _kicked out or some crap. Thanks._

 **From: Freed**

 _Of course._

Laxus pocketed his phone again and took a final glance at the mirror. He fixed the single hair that was out of place, covering it with hairspray for a final time before leaving his bathroom. He slowly began to walk around his living area as he waited, the sound of his new shoes squeaking slightly the only thing filling the room. He glanced out of his window to see that, thankfully, the earlier rain had died down; he didn't have a coat that he deemed as suit appropriate.

With a small sigh, Laxus thought about how the evening could go. He hadn't told Freed about his plans to meet with his mother, thinking it would overcomplicate matters. This, in turn, meant he hadn't told Freed his mother had not shown up. Laxus didn't know if he could make it seem as though he was fine throughout the whole party. He hoped that he could, Freed had invited him in good faith and probably didn't want his crappy mood brining it down. If he had to hold up some kind of façade, then he would try his best to do so.

He eventually decided that pacing around his living room wasn't a good way to pass the time as he waited for Freed, so sat down and absently scrolled through his phone. He tried to ignore the deafening silence of his empty apartment, which seemed to taunt him as it became harder to distract himself from the events earlier in the day.

Thankfully, just as the silence began to wear away at his resolve, a sharp knock came from the door.

The blonde was on his feet a moment later. He quickly unchained and unlocked the door, opening it

to see Freed standing before him holding a large wooden box and wearing a suit. A pretty sharp looking suit too; it was entirely black, expensive looking and completed with a bow tie. Laxus also noticed that Freed had his hair tied up in a high ponytail, in the same way that it had been in the morning they had shared together. Laxus wondered if his awkward compliment had anything to do with that. Whether or not that was true, it was undeniable that formalwear was an incredibly good look on Freed.

He realised after a moment that he was probably staring at Freed, so quickly stood to the side and motioned for Freed to come in. He hoped that the slight warmth he could feel in his cheeks wasn't visible; Freed didn't mention anything if it was.

"Evening," Laxus greeted, closing the door behind Freed.

"Good evening," Freed smiled, walking further into the blonde's apartment. He placed the large box on the kitchen counter, carefully unlatching it. "I thought it would be easier for you to decide on a mask here rather than in the car. That's okay isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Laxus nodded, walking towards the box he assumed the masks were in. "Is there one you want specifically?"

"No, mines in the car," Freed smiled a little. "Pick whichever you prefer."

When Freed opened the box, Laxus was presented with three masks of varying designs. The left most one was, Laxus expected, the most traditional as it was made up of a black fabric with a small pattern etched into it. The middle was the most intricate, with a neatly painted design covering it made to look like it was flaking slightly but covered in elegant swirls. The right was the most interesting, made from a metal with multiple intricate carvings and sharp edges.

Laxus looked over them all. His hand reached out to the simple looking one, but he stopped. Yes, it was probably the lightest and would be the easiest to deal with, but he just didn't feel it. His eyes kept flickering to the right most one, which he realised was the one he _wanted_ to wear. He was making decisions on what he wanted now, why should this choice be any different.

Leaning forward, he carefully picked up the angular mask. It wasn't as heavy, or as cool, as he had expected, but it was defiantly made of metal. He carefully placed the mask against his face, noting that it seemed to fit the structure of his face well. He smiled a little, lowering it and looking to Freed.

"This one okay?" He asked, nodding to the mask.

"Of course," Freed nodded. "Actually, I picked that one specifically because I thought you'd like it. I'm glad that you do."

Laxus offered a small smile and a nod, keeping hold of the mask. "The car's outside, right? We should probably leave pretty soon, wouldn't be shocked if asshole kids upstairs noticed you leave and they're already trying to rip of the tires off to sell."

Freed let out a single laugh but nodded, closing the box of masks with a small smile. At the time of purchase, he hadn't been sure about the mask Laxus had chosen. The store claimed it had been kept in storage and hardly ever been used because of its non-conventional design, so he felt relieved that his assessment of it being representative of Laxus' personality had been proven true. It also, from the few moments it had been held against Laxus' face, seemed to highlight mans face in a way that was highly complementary, which Freed wouldn't complain about.

Soon, the two men left the apartment building and walked onto the rain-soaked pathway, which was slowly starting to dry. Parked outside the building was a car that Laxus had never seen before. Freed had insisted that this was Laxus' night off and that he should not have to drive, so he had hired a driver – and a car, it seemed – to take them to and from the party.

Although it wasn't greatly illuminated by the dingy streetlamps, Laxus identified the brand of cars immediately. It was a Rolls Royce. A luxury, brand new Rolls Royce limo. Outside of his shitty apartment building, waiting for him, was a car synonamous with luxury and wealth.

"Fuck," Laxus whispered, turning to Freed. "How much did this-"

"Don't worry about it," Freed cut him off, watching as the chauffeur left the driver's seat and opened the door for them. "I promised for this to be an enjoyable night to distract you, and I'm a man of my word if nothing else."

He walked towards the open door, nodding to the driver as he climbed in. Laxus followed and let out a small thanks, which the driver nodded back to. The blonde found himself in a weird middle ground where half of him was focused on the fact that, financially speaking, he was massively out of his depth and felt as though he didn't belong. The other half of his mind told him that he should have turned back to the window of his neighbour's apartment and stuck his middle finger at the old woman who constantly invaded his business and had a sense of antagonising superiority. Getting into a car like this would wipe the sneer of her wrinkled old face.

But he didn't, instead getting into the back of the car. Again, he did a double take, the interior was just as luxurious. The seats were large, upholstered with white leather. Dividing the back seats from the driver was practically a wall, with a closed drinks cabinet below a large TV screen which presented the words 'Blue Pegasus Automobiles.' Laxus hesitantly sat down, as if expecting he'd disrupt the car in some way.

"You needn't look so worried," Freed chuckled a little. "Just enjoy yourself."

"Sorry, just a culture shock," Laxus smiled a little sheepishly. "I mean I knew you had money, but this just feels like… it feels like another level."

"Perhaps if I brought the car. But hiring it for the night isn't nearly as expensive as you'd think," Freed assured him, not seeing any point in telling Laxus that he'd called in a favour from a friend to get one of the most luxurious models at a heavily discounted price. Instead, he leaned forward and opened the small drinks cabinet. "Something to calm your nerves?"

"Yeah, thanks," Laxus chuckled a little. He saw some scotch – some luxury damn scotch no less – and nodded when Freed motioned to it. "On ice, if there's any of it."

Freed nodded and shifted, revealing to Laxus a small bucket and some glasses. As Freed poured them both drinks, Laxus leant back and took in his surroundings. This was the difference between the life with his mother and his life now. If he had continued to live under his parents' shadow, he would probably be distracting himself from any problems in Mira's bar with an overabundance of alcohol. But he wasn't, he was going to the party of the elite in a car he would have never dreamed about entering months before. He was better than his past self, this encapsulated it, and Freed had a pretty big part to play in it.

The luxury itself wasn't Laxus' main focus. It was the consideration. Freed didn't have to invite him as a guest, but thought it would help Laxus, so he did. He could have let Laxus drive their normal car, but he wanted him to enjoy the night as much as possible so hired a driver and a different car. Laxus would have been happy with any mask, but Freed had not only given him choice, but picked one specifically for him.

His parents wouldn't have put that much consideration into anything. They wouldn't have fucking shown up.

"Here," Freed's voice cut across Laxus' train of thought before he could truly become angry again. He was holding out a glass of scotch with a small frown; obviously Laxus' face had shown at least a little of what he had been feeling.

"Thanks," Laxus forced a small smile as he took the drink.

Freed hadn't said anything despite the small amount of concern on his face, which Laxus was appreciative of. They both took a sip of their respective drinks, Laxus placing his glass in the holders that separated their chairs. He buckled himself in after noticing Freed had done the same, leaning back and trying to get his focus back on the fantastic car, rather than the issues with his parents. He could keep the façade up for a night, that was all he needed.

Through the cars speakers, the driver's voice asked if they were both ready to depart. After raising an eyebrow at Laxus, who nodded, Freed pressed a button on the armrest and said that they were. A small red light beside the button Freed was pressing – Laxus assumed it meant the driver could hear them when lit – went out and the car began to move.

"You ever wish you could have a driver like that," Laxus asked with mirth in his voice, trying to assure Freed he was fine without broaching the topic. "Open the door for you and ask when you're ready, you're missing out on all that crap."

"Perhaps," Freed said with a small grin. "But the people who get all that crap miss out on the joys that come with being driven around by a mongrel."

"Mongrel?" Laxus raised an eyebrow, genuine amusement forming on his face. "That what you see me as?"

"You've certainly got the scruff for it," Freed's voice showed how obviously teasing he was. "I would have thought you could comb your hair at least for today."

Laxus frowned. He knew Freed wasn't being serious but, given the time he had spent making sure his hair was entirely slicked back, he shouldn't have offered him anything to tease about with his hair. When he pulled out his phone and checked his reflection, he saw that the small amount of hair that had gotten out of place before had returned, much to the blonde's annoyance. He moved his hand to fix it, but Freed stopped him by gently catching his hand before he could reach his head.

"Don't," Freed spoke almost softly. "There's a charm to having it like that."

With a small nod that was probably too curt, Laxus was almost sure that he was blushing. Not only had Freed complimented him but feeling Freed's hand on his own was a new experience that Laxus wasn't averse to. He was sure that it had happened before, it must have, but it felt different. Maybe because, at least for the evening, they weren't employee and employer. They were friends.

Soon, the car fell into a comfortable silence. It seemed Laxus had achieved what he wanted in diverting the evening away from his issues, and they were both happy to listen to the gentle music playing. Laxus couldn't identify it, but it was a pleasant enough instrumental that gave the drive a relaxing atmosphere that Laxus was thankful for.

The ride to the library lasted a short while. It was in the lavish city centre that housed the tourist attractions and the most elite members of society, whereas Laxus lived on the fringe of Magnolia which was significantly less extravagant in looks. As the car travelled through the streets he was more familiar with, Laxus half felt as though they were attracting the attention of anyone who saw them. He supposed he should have expected that kind of reaction; the car did stick out compared to the second hand, older models that mainly populated outer Magnolia.

Slowly, the library came into view. Multiple luxury cars, well dressed people and even the odd photographer could be seen outside the doors. Laxus suddenly felt out of his comfort zone again, but Freed chuckled a little.

"Ignore the photographers. They won't care about us when there's celebrities and politicians around," Freed assured him. "And if they do take a liking to you, it's not as if you could be identified."

Laxus smiled a little, suddenly aware of the mask that was resting on his thigh. It reassured him slightly; he didn't need to worry about being out of his depth or not fitting in. He wasn't restrained by who he was – not by his crappy apartment, his lack of a designer suit, or by his shitty parents. For the night, he was a guest of Magnolia's elite and had as much right as anyone else to be there and enjoy himself.

When he looked up, he caught Freed carefully removing his hand from his head. Now covering the top half of his face was an intricate mask, also made of metal with multiple detailed and elegant looking carvings. It was a little smaller than the one Laxus had picked out but seemed to fit with Freed's image perfectly.

Freed really was a damn handsome man.

Before Laxus could be caught thinking of his praises, however, he picked the golden looking mask up and looked at it. It had two long pieces of silk coming from the side, obviously used to tie the mask in place. He carefully lifted it to his face, frowning a little as he wondered how he would keep it in place as he tied it.

"Would you like me to do it?" Freed offered, as if hearing Laxus' thoughts.

"Yeah, thanks," Laxus nodded a little.

He shifted in his seat, so his back was to Freed, keeping the mask against his face in a way that was comfortable and hindered his sight as little as possible. He soon heard a slight shifting from behind him and felt the gentle tugging of the ribbon as the mask was tied behind him.

As Freed began to carefully tie the silk into a tight bow, he noticed that Laxus' shoulders were hunched up slightly. There hadn't been a shift in his posture when Freed had leant over, so the action of tying the mask hadn't caused it. Obviously, Laxus was tense for some reason, and Freed just hoped that he would get more comfortable as the night went on. The night was meant to act as a break from stress, after all.

The car soon pulled to a stop, the driver exiting it and opening the door for them. Freed left first, nodding to the driver and slipping him some money with the assurance he would be contacted when they wanted to return home. Laxus shifted to the open door, where he saw Freed offering him a hand to help him out. With a small frown, he took Freed's hand and left the vehicle.

Freed had a pretty strong grasp. Laxus half expected it to be more delicate, but he wasn't disappointed by the revelation. In fact, he found himself rather pleased, for whatever reason.

The two masked men walked up the marble steps of the Grand Magnolia Library. As Freed had said, the few photographers present were occupied by people they saw as more important – Laxus could have sworn he recognised the young woman with silvery blue hair in a short bob that three members of press were fawning over from some pretty decent TV dramas. They were soon at the entrance of the building, where Freed pulled out two small cards from his jacket pocket and showed them to the bouncer, who moved aside to let them both in; Laxus nodded to him in a silent greeting as he walked inside.

Already, the room was filled with masked people in expensive clothing. Intermingled with them was a mask-less waiting staff, walking around with trays of drinks and food. There was a constant sound of talking, although Laxus laid eyes on a small band in the corner of the room, playing a cover of some popular song in a jazz style. In was an intimidating sight, but Laxus didn't exactly feel out of place, which he hadn't expected.

"Champagne for the two of you, sirs?" A waiter said as he approached, holding a tray of filled glasses.

"Thank you," Freed smiled, reaching up and taking a glass. Laxus followed his lead and took one as well.

"Thanks," He nodded, voice gruffer than he had wanted.

At this, the waiter nodded and walked away, going to greet someone else who had walked in. Freed guided them away from the doors and further into the library. Now out of what would be the reception area on a normal day, they walked to a less crowded wing, the calmer atmosphere of the new room welcomed by the blonde.

The ceilings were high and housed multiple lavish, identical chandeliers which illuminated the room perfectly. The walls were covered by bookshelves, each filled with leather bound books that were immaculately kept. Perfectly carved pillars were illuminated by spotlights to highlight them, and a small metal balcony hung half way up the wall, so all books could be accessed if someone needed to use them. In the middle of the room, multiple circular tables that were immaculately dressed covered the carpet. It was pretty damn impressive, to say the least.

"Damn," Laxus mumbled under his breath, taking a sip of his champagne. He then looked to Freed with a small grin. "Kinda different to the libraries I grew up with. Was half expecting the band to be shushed by some middle aged with glasses on a chain."

"Who somehow manage to wear a faded pink cardigan without it hindering her authority, I assume," Freed smiled. Laxus nodded, grin widening. "I'm sure, if we came back tomorrow, we could find someone like that without much trouble."

"Probably pissed that someone was eating near the books," Laxus smirked, Freed nodding with a smile. "D'you know if there's a specific time we have to eat?"

"I don't think so. Apparently, the organisers went in favour of a gourmet buffet instead of a traditional mean," Freed explained, walking further into the room. "I imagine that, later in the night, it'll be opened, and you'll be able to get something whenever you want."

"Okay," Laxus nodded. "Would have thought that the people who come to parties like this would wanna be waited on hand and foot, though."

"I think it's meant to be fashionable," Freed chuckled a little.

Laxus smiled at the comment, which seemed to be a joke at the expense of the pretentious rich people and their obsession with trends. The blonde was glad to hear that Freed also had more of an outsider view when it came to rich people, despite the fact he was one himself. Although Laxus knew Freed wasn't going to suddenly start looking down on him, he had a small amount of concern that Freed would change a little for the night to fit in with the crowd. He was glad to have that doubt put to rest.

"Although, it's a good decision. I've been to parties like this before and a three-course meal equates to three bites of pretentious and underwhelming food," Freed smiled a little as he continued. "The first time I came to one, I ended up leaving early and going to a little pizza place. The food there was actually quite an improvement."

With a chuckle, Laxus nodded and absently imagined a younger Freed, dressed in a stupidly expensive suit, eating some greasy monstrosity of a pizza in some dingy little store and sticking out like a sore thumb. It was a though that elected a single laugh out of the driver.

He shouldn't have doubted Freed, he realised. If Freed had proven himself to be anything, it was considerate. Whenever he'd called on Laxus' services as a driver, he made sure to give him a decent amount of time for Laxus to be prepared almost every time, and also tried not to interrupt any plans Laxus had previously set up. Even inviting him to this party was done because Freed was considerate. He should have known that Freed wasn't going to let him feel alienated or as if he didn't belong. He knew Freed was trustworthy enough to not do something like that.

Unlike his fucking mother, apparently.

The blonde silently scolded himself in his own mind. He'd managed to make it pretty far without her entering his mind, and he wasn't going to let her ruin it. He was with Freed, someone he actually could trust.

His attention was brought back into the room a moment later, when he realised that he had been looking at Freed throughout his short inner conflict. The other man had a small frown on his face, and Laxus expected he would have seen a small raised eyebrow of confusion if Freed's mask hadn't hidden it.

"Are you okay?" Freed asked, voice showing a small amount of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Laxus assured him with a small smile. He could tell Freed doubted him, so quickly tried to change the topic of conversation. "Your, erm, your mask is a little uneven. Hold on."

Without thinking, Laxus reached forward and gently nudged the mask so it was completely straight; not that it was visibly uneven beforehand. After making sure it looked as good as he could get it, he retracted his hand slowly. He tried to ignore the fact his knuckles had unintentionally gently ran across Freed's cheek in an almost tender way, allowing him to feel both how soft his skin was and the impressive bone structure of Freed's face.

After he pulled back he knew he had a small blush, and he found himself wishing he had been given the option to wear a mask that hid his now reddened cheeks.

Both men were silent for a few moments. Laxus turned away slightly, not wanting to show Freed his blush if he could avoid it. He wasn't sure if Freed had even noticed the small amount of contact, and didn't want to find out; at least if he wasn't sure, he would be able to convince himself Freed hadn't felt anything. He took another sip of his champagne, hoping to think of something that would restart their conversation again. Thankfully, that burden was taken away from him.

"Freed?"

Both men heard a female voice come from behind them, making them turn. They saw a blonde woman in an extravagant looking dress approach them. She smiled when she saw it was, indeed, Freed.

"Oh thank god, it is you," The blonde continued. "These businessmen are so tedious. I thought you weren't coming to these things anymore."

Laxus watched as the woman took Freed into a hug, which was reciprocated. The woman was wearing a mask made of intricate patterns of metal that resembled flowers, intersplices with blue gemstones. She smiled as she pulled away, eyes straying towards Laxus.

"I thought this one might not be so detestable," Freed explained, before seeing the two blondes look at each other. "Oh, my apologies. Lucy, this is Laxus, my friend and, of course, guest for the evening. Laxus, this is Lucy Heartfilia. She's an author, but we really know each other from coming to these kinds of events and only talking to each other."

Lucy smiled at Laxus and offered him a hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Laxus nodded, shaking her hand. Her grip wasn't as delicate as he expected, which made him think back to when Freed had helped him out of the car. The dying blush resurfaced a little, but he tried not to fell put off by it. Instead, he continued speaking. "So, an author? Anything I might have heard of."

"Maybe," Lucy smiled again. "I go by the name L.C. Heartfilia. But the most recent one was called 'Compositional Being', it was pretty popular."

Laxus thought for a moment. The name was familiar to him, as was the title of the book. He frowned, before he remembered that the crappy morning show that he listened to on the radio when he was still driving the garbage truck once reviewed it. Pretty positively, too.

"That's the one people were obsessed with a couple months back?"

"Probably," Lucy said, seemingly a little embarrassed. "Did you happen to read it?"

"No," Laxus didn't hesitate in his answer.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Freed let out a small snort. He happened to be taking a sip from his champagne at that time, meaning the sudden exhale shot the alcohol around his glass. Laxus half wished he could have seen it directly, because it would have been pretty fucking funny. Instead, he kept looking at the blonde woman, who was actually smiling a little more.

"Thank god," She sighed, making Laxus frown. "I mean, I know officially I should be offended or whatever, but pretty much everyone I've spoken to have been making it out like it's the next great novel and that it'll change the world, when we both know it won't. And the people who haven't read it are pretending that they have and it's just really awkward. So, it's nice someone hasn't got the note to treat me like I'm some sensitive five-year-old."

"Glad I can help?" Laxus replied, as it was the only thing he could think of saying.

Freed, who had evidently recovered form his near miss of having expensive alcohol up his nose, placed his empty glass on the table they were standing by. He didn't say anything, but he was glad that Lucy saw Laxus in the same way that he did: a welcome break from the pretention and stupidity of the people their class were forced to socialise with.

"I heard a rumour that it would be turned into a movie," Freed said, re-joining the conversation. "Is there any truth to that?"

"Yeah, actually," Lucy smiled again. "And the director wants me to be a pretty big part of it. Say's I get the final say on the script and I get to help with the casting. We picked the lead last week, actually. Yukino Agria, do you know her?"

"Yes. Is she here tonight? I think we might have walked past her when we came in," Freed frowned a little, and Laxus thought back to the woman with silvery blue hair from before.

"She is. You can meet her if you like, she's actually pretty down to earth. You'd like her."

Freed frowned a little. He had planned to spend the evening with Laxus – he was the reason Freed had decided to come, after all – and he doubted Laxus would enjoy talking to an actress for however long it would take. Freed himself had a passive interest in acting, but he would enjoy talking to Lucy more as she had been the reason these parties had been tolerable in the past. He slowly turned towards Laxus before answering.

"You wouldn't mind, would you?" He asked with a small amount of hesitancy.

Laxus took a few moments to realise that question was aimed at him, but he smiled when he did. This was further proof of Freed's thoughtfulness in relation to him. He probably assumed he wasn't interested in some actress he barely knew, which was a correct assumption, and was making sure Laxus would be okay if he went, despite not needing to. Freed really was a damn good guy.

Unlike some people- no! She was not ruining the evening.

"Nah, go ahead," Laxus assured him with a grin. "I'm not some kid, right? I can look after myself. Besides, if I get bored it seems like the only thing I need to do to fit in is suck up to any author I find and eat small amounts of food, right."

Lucy laughed at his assessment of the other party guests, and Freed smiled a little. "You're sure?"

"Positive. Go talk to people."

"Thanks," Freed smiled. "I'll try not to take too long."

Laxus nodded with a small grin. Lucy claimed that she enjoyed meeting Laxus and was soon directing Freed out of the wing they'd retreated to and towards the main hall of the party. Laxus watched with a small grin, before finishing his glass of champagne while finding amusement that Freed had assured him he wouldn't be left alone for too long. Considerate fuck.

Just before leaving the room, Freed looked over his shoulder with a small amount of concern. He'd noticed that Laxus had been a little vacant from time to time and wondered if something had happened. He felt guilty for leaving him, even if Laxus had assured him it was fine.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, noticing he'd stopped.

"I'm fine," Freed assured her. "But, if I get distracted for too long, could you sit with him please? He's not used to this, and I think maybe something's happened. He might appreciate the company."

"Yeah, of course," Lucy smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

The two of them started to walk again, Freed sending one final glance over his shoulder as he looked to Laxus with a frown. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and he needed to make sure Laxus was feeling okay the moment he could get back to him. He just hoped Laxus could manage on his own for a short while.

* * *

 **~Later~**

For what seemed like the tenth time in the last thirty minutes, Freed glanced over his shoulder. He looked towards his guest for the night, who was sitting at one of the heavily dressed tables. He was engaged in a conversation with Lucy, one that had commenced fifteen minutes prior. Freed couldn't begin to guess what the two strangers would have to talk about for that long of a time, but he was glad Laxus at least wasn't alone.

Freed's plan of keeping his conversation with Yukino short hadn't worked out as well as he wanted. He'd exchanged pleasantries and made general inquiries that an actress would expect, all of which hadn't lasted too long. But, once that conversation had ended, someone else dragged him into a new one.

The longer Freed was forced to leave Laxus, the worse he felt.

He had kept an eye on the blonde. Lucy had, true to her word, kept Laxus company in his absence and probably explained why he hadn't yet returned. Her being there had been the only thing making him conform to the social niceties instead of abruptly ending the conversation and walking away without a further word.

Thankfully, he expected he'd be able to get away from the endless stream of conversation soon. He was talking with the director of Lucy's movie – someone Freed expected had been sent over to him as it gave him an easy way out of conversation – who seemed quite relaxed and uncaring for the social rules of being at such a party, so probably wouldn't care for a conversation ending suddenly. Freed couldn't remember the man's name, but he had gaudy pink hair and was wearing an equally gaudy red suit.

"Sorry, kinda got off track," The director grinned a little sheepishly. "So, what d'you do then?"

"I gamble a little," Freed said, turning back towards the other man. "Although, sometimes I wonder if that's an accurate title considering there's practically no risk in me losing."

"So you're a challenge then?" The director grinned widely. "Bet I could kick your ass. What d'you play? Poker? I'm king at poker."

"Well, if that's true then I'd quite enjoy dethroning you some time," Freed smirked.

The director started to talk about how that certainly wouldn't happen, in a short but light-hearted tirade in which he explained he wouldn't lose to anyone. Seeing as he seemed to be getting lost in what he was saying and that the conversation didn't particularly need another person at that point, Freed took the chance to look over his shoulder again to make sure Laxus was okay.

Lucy wasn't talking to him anymore. She had been dragged away and, by the forced smile she wore, wasn't enjoying the conversation she was in. Still at the table, Laxus was now alone and looked a little lost for a moment, before trying to hide it. Freed turned back to the director, stopping his small monologue.

"Well, if you're as good as you say you are, we'll have to play together some time," Freed interrupted, glad the other man didn't seem offended. "Lucy has my contact details, so ask her to set it up. If you'll excuse me?"

"Oh, 'course," He grinned. "I'm gonna hold you to that though."

Freed nodded and took the chance to leave before it left. He strode across the marble floor, walking at a pace that clearly showed anyone who saw him that he wasn't looking for conversation. His eyes were solely on Laxus, and he wore a small frown that got more obvious the closer he got.

Something had been a little off with Laxus all night. Even when Freed had arrived at Laxus' apartment, the blonde had seemed a little self-contained. It didn't make sense that he didn't want to come, both Laxus and Mirajane, when Freed had visited her bar, had assured him he was looking forward to it. As he got closer to his guest, he knew that he would have to find out what had happened if he wanted Laxus to enjoy his evening; or at least he would try to find out, if Laxus didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't push the matter.

"Hey," He greeted, Laxus looking up. "Sorry that took so long. I think they see me as a novelty, I'll try not to let it happen again."

"Nah, you don't need to worry about it," Laxus grinned, but Freed felt as though it was forced. He couldn't be sure. "Your friend kept me company anyway, so I had someone to talk to."

"I'm glad," Freed smiled, taking a seat beside Laxus. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much. I asked about her book. She asked how we know each other," Laxus shrugged a little.

Freed nodded and looked at Laxus with a small amount of concern in his eyes. If the situation were different, he would have just assumed that Laxus was annoyed at him for leaving him for as long as he did. But Laxus had been subtly caged off for all of the night but was acting as if he wasn't. It was obvious he had something on his mind, and that it was bothering him, even if he was trying not to let it affect him.

The gambler considered how he should broach the subject for a few moments. He watched as a waitress offered them both a drink, and when Laxus raised his hand in denial before hunching up again. Freed also refused the offer, politely, but decided that there was no point being subtle with the blonde.

"Is there something wrong, Laxus?" Freed said, somewhat quietly.

Laxus looked up, eyes a little wide below his mask. He obviously must have expected Freed not to have noticed his mood, or perhaps he'd simply hoped that Freed wouldn't have noticed. His expression wiped the shock away quickly, replacing it with a gentle grin.

"I'm fine," He said, voice forcing a jovial attitude.

"Please don't bullshit me, Laxus," At Freed's cuss, Laxus looked up from his lap. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's completely your choice and I won't push it. But, I don't want you to feel as though you can't be yourself around me."

The blonde was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "It ain't because I'm here, I'm actually enjoying it more than I thought. Its just that… it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it."

Freed didn't say anything immediately. He was glad to have his assumption of the party not being to blame for Laxus' mood confirmed, but that did bring up another problem. If the party wasn't to blame, it meant something else was, and it seemed as though Laxus wasn't in the mood to talk about it. That was fine, Freed wasn't going to push the issue, but he still wanted to make this an evening where Laxus could get away from his troubles.

"Would you like some air?" He offered, Laxus looking up. "And some privacy, perhaps."

"Privacy with the press?" Laxus joked a little. "Some air would be nice, though."

"Come with me."

Not leaving any space for arguing, Freed took Laxus' hand in his own and pulled him up. Laxus allowed himself to be dragged out of the wing he'd been taken to and into the main reception area. He was taken up the grand staircase until he was on the third floor. The lights still illuminated the building and it wasn't as if they'd ducked under a velvet rope, but Laxus half wondered if they were meant to be there as they were suddenly alone. He focused on this, rather than the fact he and Freed were holding hands, even if it was just because he was being dragged throughout a practically abandoned library.

Freed took him to the corner of the large room, where he opened an unlocked fire exit. They were met with a sudden blast of cold air and the sight of a tiny looking balcony with a steep set of metal stairs. Seemingly knowing where he was going, Freed released Laxus' hand and climbed the steep staircase. Laxus followed suit, shutting the door behind him.

After climbing the staircase, Laxus was shocked with what he saw. It was a rooftop garden place, fit with multiple flowerbeds, the flowers filling them halfway dead; benches scattered both near the edge and in the middle of the roof; and what looked like a water fountain, though it wasn't in use. He took a step forward, appreciating the area.

"Didn't know this place existed," Laxus said, walking towards Freed.

"Most people don't," Freed smiled. "It was meant to be an outdoor reading area but was opened in the middle of winter, so nobody wanted to come out. By the time the weather changed, almost everyone had forgotten about it, so they keep the main entrance locked up. The only reason we could get in is because they can't lock the fire exit."

Laxus nodded, looking around. He walked to the edge of the building, placing his hands on the waist high wall. The sky had gotten darker, meaning Magnolia was illuminated by streetlamps and buildings. Although Magnolia wasn't anywhere near the biggest or most grand city in the country, it had a damn good skyline. Laxus relaxed a little, the cold air a welcomed break from the stuffy library full of people.

Freed took a seat on a bench beside Laxus. He watched his guest with an unreadable expression, his ponytail slightly lifted by the wind. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Laxus seemed a little more relaxed. Maybe it was the change in environment, or maybe it was because he'd shown something was bothering him, but Freed was thankful for the change.

They sat in silence, allowing the sounds of the busy sitting to sooth them. Laxus continued to lean on the wall of the garden, and Freed waited to see if Laxus wanted to speak.

Eventually, Laxus moved. He pushed himself off from the wall and turned, walking to the small stone bench Freed was sitting on and joining him. He could still see the skyline of the city, could still hear the gentle clicking of cameras below them, still smell the slight aroma of the flowers that surrounded them. Laxus placed his hands behind him, leaning back and looking directly up at the sky. Freed watched him with a mixture of caution and curiosity. Silently, Laxus let out a long sigh and turned his head towards Freed.

"I was meant to meet my mother today," He sighed, making Freed frown.

"Okay," The gambler spoke softly. He'd immediately focused on the most important word in the statement. "Meant?"

"She didn't show," Laxus let out a spiteful laugh. "I don't know what I expected. Because this is what she does. She lets people down. She fucks you around and leaves you to deal with the consequences. I don't know why the fuck I thought that this time would be any different?"

Laxus' voice cracked a little at the end of the sentence, and Freed tried to hide the sympathy in his eyes. Laxus, despite the fact he was clearly hurting, seemed to have relaxed a little more at his exclamation. Freed expected that he would appreciate getting everything off of his chest, so the gambler remained quiet and allowed his friend to talk for as long as he needed.

"You know, I really did think she was different," He looked back up again. "I thought, why would she bother coming all this way to see me, why would she try and reconnect with me, if she wasn't serious? Y'know, I didn't think she'd do that kinda shit if she wasn't serious. And now, honestly, I can't shake the feeling that it's me that's done something wrong."

"You haven't," Freed said with force. "Trust me, this is not your fault."

"Then why the hell didn't she come?" Laxus' voice cracked again, and he looked Freed with tears forming in his eyes. "What the hell changed? Two weeks ago, she was talking about how much she wanted to get to know me again. About how she realised she was wrong and wanted to make it up with me. What the fuck happened, because against every fucking bit of logic that was screaming at me, I was gonna try and make something with her. And she fucks me around again. So, either she's just some twisted bitch who enjoyed hurting me, or…"

Laxus let out a groan of frustration and looked back up again. Freed could see his hands screw up and his muscles clench.

"Or she realised she was better off without me after she saw me." He finished, voice almost fragile.

Freed couldn't think of the words that would make Laxus feel any better. He wished he had them, but just didn't know what they were. He couldn't assure Laxus that he was wrong about Sophia's reasoning, because he didn't know what had changed the woman's mind. He didn't know anything, other than Laxus was desperately hurting and it wasn't getting any better.

Without saying a word, Freed carefully placed a hand on Laxus' clenched fist. Although it didn't seem to calm the blonde, Freed wasn't batted away, so gently squeezed his hand. He hoped the small contact did something to sooth Laxus, if only a little.

"I'm sorry," Freed whispered.

"It's just- it's just shit," Laxus' voice was equally as quiet. "I mean, I just don't get why it happened to me. Why did I get stuck with a mother who fucks off and leaves me whenever I need her, or an alcoholic bastard of a father who can't keep out of fucking prison! Why is it that, when my life finally starts to get fucking good, I just get shit on again!"

He was yelling by the end of the sentence, and Freed could feel Laxus' fist clench tighter still. The gambler turned completely so that he was looking at Laxus, who still had his head tilted back and was looking at the sky.

"Laxus, I know you might not believe me, but I want you to listen," Freed spoke softly. Laxus remained quiet. "You haven't done anything wrong. You're not to blame for anything that's happened to you. And, even if it seems like life does seem to shit on you, you are still a good person and you certainly deserve better than what you get."

Laxus didn't reply, but Freed could feel his hand unclench slightly and saw his muscles relax. He let his head droop a little, chest heaving slightly but he seemed a little calmer. Freed carefully stroked Laxus' fist with his thumb, again getting no obvious rejection that would cause him to stop.

Silence fell between them again, and the calm atmosphere relaxed them both. Freed continued to gently stroke Laxus' fist, and they both looked over the Magnolia Skyline. The sound of cars passing by remained, as did the clicking of cameras from below them. Life continued on around them, but for the two men, the world was simply the roof. Simply one another.

"Sorry for exploding on you," Laxus said softly, looking towards Freed again. "You're one of the good things going on for me right now, I shouldn't have done that."

"I don't care," Freed said immediately. "I'm your friend, do it any time you need."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded. "And thanks for what you said. Hell, maybe I'll believe you one day."

"I hope you do," Freed whispered.

Laxus smiled softly, not moving his gaze away from Freed's face. They were closer than he thought, but that didn't matter. He was sure in his mind now, Freed was his future. At their closeness, he could feel the cold exhales of breath coming from Freed's lips and gently colliding with his own. He didn't care, he was going to experience every damn aspect of the other man.

His eyes slowly roamed across Freed's features. He took in his soft expression, the gentle look in his eyes, the angular and sharp features of his face. His gaze eventually settled on the man's lips, soft looking and inviting, before flickering back to Freed's eyes.

They were so close.

He seemed to be acting on instinct. He raised his hand – the same hand Freed had been stroking moments ago – and carefully cupped one of Freed's cheeks. Freed glanced at it but said nothing before reigniting eye contact. The soft skin of Freed's face sent tingles up Laxus' arm, the same tingles he hadn't realised had occurred each time their hands had connected. He tentatively stroked the man's cheek with his thumb, again Freed did nothing to stop him. In fact, his eyes seemed to soften slightly.

Freed was right. He deserved better than what he got. He deserved this. He deserved Freed.

Slowly and almost cautiously, he tilted his head and leant forward a little. He could see Freed practically mirror the action, sending a rush of exhilaration and bravery throughout the entirety of his body. He allowed his eyes to close, missing Freed doing the same. He continued to lean forward, putting himself in fate's grasp.

A second later, their lips were connected in a soft, needed kiss.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Rooftop

**Hey again. So, the aftermath of the kiss! This might not exactly be what you expected, but I think that it's something that would happen with these two characters. I hope you all enjoy it, and I can assure you the next chapter will be the most Fraxus filled yet.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.**  
 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen – The Rooftop**

In that moment, Freed and Laxus were one.

Their lips were connected in a soft, tentative kiss. They moved slowly, exploring what was allowed by the other as they leant further inwards. Their noses occasionally butted against each other as they moved, the sound of their lips breaking apart only to re-join a moment later cutting through the silence. It filled them both with a sense of thrill, exhilaration and excitement that neither was used to experiencing.

It was new. But it was fantastic.

With a small amount of confidence, Laxus brought his hand to Freed's jaw to gently cup it. He stroked the other man's cheek as he leant forward a little more, moving his lips with more vigour when he felt Freed do the same.

The blonde's hand snaked up further, running through the pulled back green locks of hair. They were just as soft and silky feeling as Laxus expected them to be. Their kiss continued as Laxus' fingers snuck under the ribbon tying Freed's mask to his head. With care not to disrupt him, Laxus slowly began to slide Freed's mask over his head and placed it on the bench beside him, moving his hand back to Freed's face and letting a small smile form under the kiss.

He wanted to experience every aspect of the man he was kissing. From how soft his skin felt, to the gentle aroma of whatever scent he had chosen to wear. The soft feeling of Freed's lips, the occasional exhale he heard during the split-seconds breaks they took, it all went together to add to the perfection of the moment.

They could have only been kissing for a few short moments, but it felt like an eternity.

Although it was gentle, he could feel Freed's hand resting against his lower thigh. Whether for balance or to further the intimacy, Laxus didn't care. The fact he was doing this with Freed, and that Freed was offering more of himself for Laxus to experience – even if it was just a hand resting against his leg – made the roaring exhilaration burning in his stomach feel infinitely more powerful and infinitely more enjoyable.

But it couldn't last forever. A particularly loud, particularly cold breeze slid across them both. The trance was broken, causing them both to slowly stop and pull back.

With their eyes open again, they were silent. Both were red in the face now, though not exactly through embarrassment. They seemed to look each other, as if analysing if the other had enjoyed what had happened. They slowly pulled back, Laxus' hand resting on the cold stone of the bench they sat on and Freed's retracting from Laxus' leg, going to his own knees.

Seemingly at once, they both looked away from each other and towards the Magnolian Skyline presented to them. Neither said anything, trying to process fully what had just happened. They'd shared a kiss; a passionate one at that. Silence filled the rooftop again and, for that moment, the only thing either man could do was look over the city

"Right," Freed broke the silence with a whisper, in turn breaking Laxus out of his own silence.

"Yeah," Laxus said with a small sigh, running a hand through his hair. He looked towards Freed, cheeks still flushed. "I don't know why I did that. I _shouldn't_ have done that. I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Freed said almost immediately, looking back at Laxus. "It was… well, I didn't exactly stop it, did I?"

Laxus was silent for a moment. "No. Guess you didn't."

He looked towards the skyline again, a long exhale of breath leaving his lips as he leant back on his hands. He didn't know why he had kissed Freed. Yes, there had been multiple instances where he had been forced to confront the fact he had some kind of feelings for Freed – it seemed as though fate was pushing them together, for god's sake – but he'd honestly never really considered acting on them. Certainly not like this.

The effect of the kiss was wearing off. The exhilaration of the build-up, the ecstasy of the event. It was now replaced with a feeling not quite regretful, but not quite fulfilled either.

Moments ago, his actions had felt instinctive. It wasn't as if he acted mindlessly – he knew what he was doing, wanted to do it and had justified himself in the short moments he spent leaning forward. But now, all the surety he had felt previously had fell away, replaced by a mess of emotions swirling away in his mind. There were no words he could think of to identify what he was feeling, but as the rush of the kiss went away, he was left with a sense of… of something that was somehow sad, regretful, ecstatic and reassured all at once.

But, no matter what it was, it didn't taint the brilliance of the kiss. Nothing could.

In his mind, it had been faultless. It wasn't any kind of Hollywood kiss, where they naturally clicked and could communicate their innermost thoughts without the need for words. There was no rainstorm crashing down on them, no great confession or act of romance that would sweep the other off his feet, no tragedy or misunderstanding that pulled them apart in their highest moment. But that didn't matter, those instances weren't real. Their kiss had been real, the kiss was an event instead of an extra, and that made it so much better than any piece of fiction Laxus could think of.

That didn't change what he was feeling, though. It didn't change the fact that the high was wearing off, leaving a sense of something akin to dread in his stomach.

For a moment, there was silence.

"As I see it, Laxus, we have two actions we could take," Freed spoke, making Laxus look up again. With this, Freed continued. "We can go downstairs, perhaps try and remain at the party for a little longer before going home. Then, we can continue on as we had before to the best of our abilities, taking whatever repercussions comes with that, either good or bad. Essentially, we can try to forget this happened."

The nausea in his stomach seemed to worsen at Freed's words. Perhaps this was why the high hadn't lasted, fear of rejection. Fear that those short, addictive moments of joy would never be repeated. Laxus was sure that this fear was evident on his face, as he opened his mouth.

"And the other option?" He asked, willing his voice not to crack.

"The other option is, put simply, we talk."

There was a moment of silence, before Laxus spoke again. "Which d'you think makes the most sense?"

"I hide what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, for my job. I'm well versed in it, you could say," Freed smiled sadly. "Easily, I could let this go unspoken and ignore it ever happening. Perhaps even forget it, given time."

Dread engulfed Laxus.

"But I really don't want to," Freed continued, making Laxus' eyes snap up to him. "There are very few people who I know, who I'm comfortable around, that I don't want to hide myself from. You're one of them, I want to be open to you. You have removed my mask – quite literally, it seems – and I think it would be a damn shame if that were to change because of tonight."

Laxus' eyes flickered a little. The nervousness was still there, but now was combatted with hope. Freed wanted to discuss the kiss, not hide from it. Even if it was never repeated, maybe it wouldn't be something Laxus had to forget. It wouldn't be something forbidden, tinged with regret or guilt. Perhaps having this as a good memory and something he could look back on with fondness would be the worst-case scenario.

And, if having a good memory was the worst-case scenario, what would be the best?

"Yeah," Laxus spoke, realising he hadn't replied instantly and Freed was looking at him with caution. "I think I wanna talk about it, too."

Despite Laxus' words, neither man made any effort to speak. They were both looking over the view of the city, perhaps trying to process that their feelings, that they'd half-heartedly denied, had a chance of reciprocation. No matter what the reason for their silence was, the rooftop was once again filled with only the sound of the distance clicking of expensive cameras below them, the soft whispering of the wind as it passed around them, and the endless murmur of the people and cars that populated the busy city of Magnolia.

Laxus now found himself thinking through Freed's words, left hand still resting on Freed's mask. Had Freed been hiding himself in a similar way Laxus sometimes found himself doing – denying who he was because it was easy? Furthermore, he claimed Laxus had helped him remove that mask? The blonde had to doubt that.

Although, looking back, his first sober conversation with Freed in the café was such a contrast than what he was used to with the other man at this point in their friendship. He had simply explained this change with the fact they'd become friends and gotten closer, perhaps it was more than that.

Gripping his hand around the cool, metal mask, Laxus spoke again.

"Guess we didn't think about the hardest part of talking," He chuckled a little, Freed looking towards him again. "Actually fucking talking."

Freed sighed a little, a small smile on his face. "A considerable oversight, really."

"Yeah," Laxus grinned a little, even if it was chagrin. "Well, we need to start it somewhere, so I might as well ask. When we… when you started to lean into it, was it just because I started it? Like, were you only just going to do it because-"

He cut himself off. Why was this so damn hard to get it out? Laxus never considered himself to be particularly eloquent or gifted with words, but he could always actually say what he was feeling! Hell, multiple times he'd gotten himself into trouble because of how forward he could be with his words; blunt, that's what Makarov called it. So why, despite spending the most of his life saying whatever was on his mind, was this so hard.

He was now gripping the mask harder. It seemed to fill him with confidence, so he continued.

"Okay," Laxus muttered in hopes of gathering himself, looking to his lap. The mask only gave him so much confidence. "Did you do it just out of… just because it was happening? Or, had you thought about it before?"

"Have I thought about kissing you?" Freed said after a moment, Laxus nodding. "I… yes, I have. Recently, I have been considering what my feelings for you are and, well, I don't believe that I want to be platonic with you. I suppose, putting it bluntly, I have some kind of feelings for you that I believe are romantic."

From the corner of his eye, he could see that Freed was looking at him and was red. He could understand, he was putting himself out there, after all. Freed wasn't the kind of guy to make himself vulnerable much, Laxus assumed.

But Freed's words were what stuck with Laxus. ' _I have some kind of feelings for you._ ' That's what he had said. There was no doubting it, Laxus' feelings were reciprocated. The sense of nervousness shifted slightly to something a little more comfortable, but it still wasn't entirely positive. Maybe because, now, there was no chance of denying it. This was real, this was something that needed to be talked about. There was no backing out; Laxus never had enjoyed being backed into a corner.

"I should say though," Freed continued, Laxus looking towards him. "I wouldn't have kissed you if you hadn't initiated it."

Laxus didn't speak for a few moments. "Can I ask why?"

"The same reason I haven't mentioned I have feelings for you," Freed smiled a little sadly. Laxus couldn't ignore the pulse of energy that occurred in him when Freed said he had feelings for him again. "I don't think it would have been appropriate for me to do so."

"Not appropriate?"

"Even if we do consider ourselves friends, which I hope we do, you're still my employee, Laxus," Freed sighed. "And, if you don't mind me saying, you're in quite a vulnerable state right now, what with your mother. For god's sake, the reason for me realising what I felt for you occurred the night you slept on my sofa because of your mother. It seemed wrong that I felt like this about you while you were going through that, the idea of acting on it just seemed… selfish."

The rooftop became quiet again, before Laxus let out a silent laugh. Freed looked to him with a small frown, but Laxus had a small smile on his face as he ran his hand though his hair. Of course, even in this, Freed was taking his feelings into account.

"Overly considerate asshole," Laxus chuckled. Freed had a small smirk at that.

"I've been called a lot of things, Laxus. Never that," He grinned.

"Glad I can be here for this special moment," Laxus grinned a little. A small amount of the tension lifted. "And, if it helps, you really don't need to feel guilty about it. It ain't exactly like I wanna be platonic with you, either."

The nausea in his stomach lifted further still and was replaced with… acceptance. Saying that he felt a weight was lifted form his shoulders wasn't entirely right, but the worry had gone. He'd taken the step, exposed vulnerability in the same way that Freed had only moments before, and now he just had to deal with what was happening next. It felt freeing, in some way, and Laxus was glad to experience it.

Beside him, Freed had a small smile that suggested he was feeling the same way. They'd both had some kind of attraction to the other – and Freed perhaps had been beating himself up over it – and now they both knew. It was cathartic, to say the least.

Again, there was silence. Their feelings were reciprocated, their concern was for nothing, and they had shared a kiss. Given that the night had been intended to be a break from reality, where they could enjoy some light entertainment, free food and overly expensive alcohol, having any kind of an emotional conversation was a surprise. It was going to take them some time to actually completely process what had happened.

But it all boiled down to one fact. They had feelings each other!

"So," Laxus continued. "We've both been fucking idiots, haven't we?"

"It seems that way," Freed chuckled again. "Still, perhaps being idiots is something we can put into the past. Now we know, we just need to decide what we want to do."

What they wanted to do? Laxus knew what he wanted to do. The kiss had been one of the best feelings he'd had in years. The intimacy, the perfect normality of it, the rush of blood that flew across his body, it was all perfect. Even hearing Freed say, in no uncertain terms, that he had feelings for Laxus was so much better that he could imagine. It was immediately addictive, and Laxus wanted ever aspect of brilliance Freed could offer him. Be it the chance to wake up beside him, to sharing a walk on a winter morning, Laxus wanted it no matter what form it took.

He wanted Freed.

But, unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. The doubts that had caused Freed not to say anything were pretty valid, and it was something that would have to be spoken about if they did try and date. Freed was his boss, that was important. And it wasn't as if they worked for a large company where they could avoid each other while they worked, the car rides were pretty damn intimate. But, it wasn't something that was going to stop Laxus.

"This kinda stuff doesn't happen to me, Freed. Finding people like you, getting the kinda feelings I get with you, having someone have the same feelings back, it doesn't happen," Laxus smiled a little. "I really fucking like you Freed, and I don't wanna deny it, 'cause I think we could be a damn good couple."

After a moment, Freed spoke. "I think we could too." The statement lingered.

"There's a but, ain't there?"

"I just worry that… I don't want to take advantage of you. I don't want you to feel obligated into doing things with me that you don't want to," Freed frowned again. "I worry you might think you can't disagree with me, or even leave me if it comes to that, because it will effect your job in some way."

"You're worried about _me_ holding back on what I think," Laxus teased a little. "Me? Holding my tongue. If gramps was here, he'd laugh so hard he'd be heard across the county."

"I suppose romance makes fools of us all," Freed laughed a little, smiling.

"Seriously though," Laxus' tone got a little deeper. "I know you're not that kinda guy. You made a contract for me at the start just so I knew that you were serious and wasn't going to fuck around with my life, so I know you ain't gonna hold me to ransom or anything. And seriously, if you think I won't speak my mind if we start dating, I think you're gonna be disappointed."

"I won't," Freed smiled. "I like that you speak your mind, it's charming."

Laxus snorted, charming was not the word that was usually used to describe that aspect of his personality. But it went further to prove they were compatible, everyone had flaws, ideal partners could look past them and even enjoy them. Hell, Laxus knew that Freed's speech pattern was kinda pretentious and could grate on someone's nerves – it was easy to interoperate that he was showing off – but Laxus just found it interesting, even kind of soothing. He liked it, just like Freed seemed to like Laxus' bluntness. It just worked.

Freed himself was wrapped up in his own mind, though was glad the tension was lessened. Laxus' assurance did a great deal to eliminate his worries, but they were still there. He didn't think they'd go unless he saw first hand that he was wrong. For that to happen, they would actually have to date.

"I have," Freed spoke up, hesitating for a moment. "I have a proposal."

"A proposal. Damn, you go for extremes, don't ya," Laxus taunted, making Freed chuckle. "Shouldn't you be on one knee? Get a ring out?"

"You wish," Freed grinned a little. "But, I do think there is a way we could… date, without these doubts getting too invasive. The way I see it, they all seem to focus around the fact I'm your boss, so the naturally thing to do is for us to do is remove that element to see if a relationship will work without it."

Laxus paused, before frowning. "I swear to god if you're gonna fire me after I said you're not the kind of guy who-"

"No, I'm not going to fire you," Freed assured him, though was casually interested in seeing what threat Laxus had planned for him if he had been right. "What I meant was, maybe we should try and see if we could have a good relationship without that aspect, just for a short time. Then, if we are as good as I believe we can be, then we can have the motivation to get past those issues when we go back to normal. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I think so," Laxus nodded. "So, what, I don't drive for you for a while or something?"

"I was more thinking we – and if this is too forward then please say – literally escape the idea of me being your boss. Have a week, or even just a weekend away. For that time, you're not my employee and you never have been. We will just be two men in a relationship going on vacation."

Thinking for a moment, Laxus broke out in a grin. He thought he knew Freed pretty well, and knew he was the kind of guy who thought things through before acting; he was a poker player, of course he was like that. So, the fact Freed was willing to do this despite having obvious, reasonable doubts suggested to the blonde that he really was serious about Laxus. The same addictive thrill shot through Laxus again when he considered that thought.

"Sounds… It sounds really good," Laxus grinned. "I wanna do that. A lot."

"Good," Freed was smiling, still slightly red. Laxus wasn't much better. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," Laxus smiled, looking around in a sensation not entirely far from giddiness. "But, as romantic as it is up here, we should go back down. It's fucking freezing."

"I suppose so," Freed nodded, with a smile.

They both stood up, and Laxus made sure to pick Freed's mask up. He didn't know if they'd let Freed in without a mask despite the fact he'd been proven to wear one before, but that didn't matter; Freed looked pretty hot in the mask. Granted, he looked pretty hot without the mask, his suit was flattering as hell. Certainly on the torso…

The fact he could think like that without guilt was amazing. Because seriously, denying it was near impossible when the evidence was so, so hot.

But, as he offered the mask to Freed, he realised something, and a rush of embarrassment filled through him. He slowly brought his hands to his face and, indeed, his fears were proven to be true. His fingers grazed against the cold metal he had forgotten was there, and his cheeks were redder than they had been in quite some time.

"Fucks sake," He muttered, Freed looking at him with a small frown. "A long-ass, emotional talk about my mother and about us, and all throughout it I was looking like a fucking electric Pokémon."

With that, any remaining tension was completely gone. Freed allowed himself to laugh quite loudly, not doing anything for the large blush on Laxus' cheeks. The blonde sent a half-hearted, non-serious glare to Freed, who calmed his laughing and instead smiled. He carefully placed his own mask on again, only then noticing Laxus' redness.

"If it makes it any better, you make a damn fine looking Zapdos."

"Zapdos?" Laxus snorted a little, though the rush went through him yet again at the compliment. "Nerd."

"You brought it up," Freed smirked.

"Guess I did," Laxus grinned. "But if I'm a Zapdos, you're a trainer. And not like the main character, your one of those annoying rich kids that has some pretentious dog thing that's at the end of a route and you can't get passed 'em without fighting."

"You certainly know how to make a man blush, Laxus," Freed taunted, Laxus barking out a laugh. "You feeling hungry? I'm sure they'll have started to serve food by now."

"Yeah, little bit. Had an early lunch because of… well, you already know," Laxus smiled a little, though it wasn't quite as sad as before. "But yeah, starving."

"Well, if it's the case that you haven't had a full meal for most of the day, it seems cruel to force you to eat the tiny, overly fancy and altogether unsatisfying foods that they'll serve here," Freed smiled as Laxus frowned. "I saw a little pizza place a few blocks away. If you're willing to wait for a little longer, I know from experience the food in those places will be infinitely more filling than downstairs. Probably tastes better, unless you like your food drowned in red wine."

A grin split across Laxus' face. "You sure you're okay leaving?" Freed nodded. "A greasy pizza and fuck-ton of fries sounds amazing."

"A greasy pizza and fuck-ton of fries it is then."

With a grin, they both walked to the part of the rooftop that lead to the fire escape they had used to gain access to the garden. Freed climbed down first, with Laxus following him. Just as Freed reached for the door handle that would get them back inside of the library, Laxus grabbed it gently and turned him around.

Now they were facing each other again, Laxus carefully placed his hands-on Freed's hips. He wore a soft smile on his face, no sign of a smirk or grin. He leant forward and carefully leant his forehead against Freed's, not sure where this confidence had come from. When Freed relaxed against him and closed his eyes, Laxus felt warmth flow through his body. The calm expression on Freed's face was added to the growing list of spectacular things Laxus was becoming addicted to.

"Thank you for tonight," He whispered. "If it weren't for you, I'd be in some bar feeling sorry for myself. But, I'm not, I'm really fucking happy, because of you," Freed went to open his mouth, but Laxus spoke quickly. "You're fucking amazing."

Freed smiled softly, before whispering. "So are you."

Laxus leant down a little, and Freed leant up. For the second time that night, their lips met and they shared a perfect kiss under the moonlight.


	17. Chapter 17 - The Vacation

**Hi. Sorry this is a day late, I've started college again so I have to get used to not having more time to write. Also, with my new timetable, I'm thinking of moving my upload day to every other Monday rather than Sunday so I can have more of the weekend to write. Hopefully I'll be able to stick to that.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen – The Vacation**

Laxus wasn't sure why he was surprised. He knew that Freed was wealthy, he knew that quite a few luxuries came with that wealth, so he shouldn't be surprised. But, standing before the beach house that Freed apparently co-owned and had access to in the summer months – of course, the best time to have a beach house – Laxus still found himself shocked that he would be staying there.

After the suggestion that they perform a test to see if their relationship had grounds to work away from their usual dynamic, Freed had suggested they spend the week in Hargeon and described his villa as a simple house by the coast that he had invested in. Looking at the villa, Laxus surmised that his description wasn't technically a lie. It wasn't a lavish mansion like it could have been, but the singe floor villa wasn't devoid of luxuries. Not if you took the sea views, private pool and beautiful landscape into account; and Laxus hadn't even seen the inside yet.

If this is what Freed considered simple, Laxus wondered what he considered luxurious.

He chose not to voice these thoughts, though. Instead, he looked back to Freed as he left the drivers seat of the car he had just parked. He'd insisted on driving, Laxus assumed this was because he wanted to completely disassociate the week away from their usual working dynamic of him driving everywhere. The blonde honestly wouldn't be surprised is Freed had considered renting another car for the same reason.

The thought made Laxus smile a little. He wouldn't have given it a second thought if Freed had wanted him to drive, it really didn't matter to him. But the fact Freed had thought that it might matter reminded Laxus of Freed's consideration about him; not that he needed a reminder. Still, it was nice.

"Nice place," Laxus commented as Freed walked to his side. The two walked down the driveway and towards the door, Freed pulling out a key.

"Thank you," Freed smiled a little, glancing towards Laxus for a moment before unlocking the door. "Nice enough to justify the drive?"

Laxus grinned a little. Despite not being the one to drive, the journey had taken a toll. It had lasted considerably longer than either had expected – they'd left in the early afternoon and had been caught up in the rush hour traffic - and the short break part way through had done little to make the hours spent in the car less cramped. Still, the idle conversation they'd had did something to worsen the blow.

"Can't be sure yet," Laxus chuckled. "Still, wasn't as bad as whenever my grandad took me on vacation when I was a kid. Went to the same place every year, took about five hours to get there packed into his tiny-ass car. We had to leave at four in the morning every year and we couldn't stop so we could 'avoid the worse of the traffic' or something."

Freed glanced over his shoulder, seeing Laxus smile. "So you enjoyed it?"

"Highlight of the year," Laxus' smile turned into a grin, his words not untrue. After all, he got to spend a week or two with his grandfather by the beach in the middle of summer, what wasn't to like? Other than the drive, of course.

"I'm glad," Freed smiled. "And I wish we could have taken his advice, I'd much rather wake up early in the morning than sit in traffic for an hour."

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was three thirty in the morning and you're eating burnt toast with an old man telling you to hurry your ass up to leave," Laxus grinned, unable to stop himself from thinking about his vacations with his grandfather. He hadn't been away like this since he was a kid, reminiscing was natural.

"I suppose not," Freed chuckled, opening the door and walking inside. Laxus followed him.

The inside of the villa was pretty much what Laxus expected. Mainly, damn impressive. It was open plan, filled with immaculate furniture that was bright and summery. The ceilings were high and the room light. The living area was cut off from the kitchen by a long breakfast bar with stools lining it. Beside the kitchen counters were two large glass doors that, Laxus assumed, lead onto the patio and pool area Freed had told him they had. Again, despite knowing he shouldn't have expected anything less, he found himself impressed.

He walked further inside, boots clicking against the hardwood floors. He saw a small hallway off to the side with doors on either side, most likely where the bedrooms and bathrooms were. He was half tempted to let out an impressed whistle but figured the obvious expression on his face was good enough at making his feelings known.

Instead of commenting, Freed just let out a small chuckle. He placed his keys on a small countertop in the living room and looked back to Laxus.

"If you want to take a look around and get used to the place, I'm going to get the bags from the car," He explained, Laxus looking towards him. "The kitchen should be fully stocked if you're hungry. I'll be back in a moment."

After nodding, Laxus watched Freed return to the car. The blonde looked around, taking in the villa that would be his home for the next week. He tapped his fingers absently on the countertop as he walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge to see that it was fully stocked as Freed had said. Of course Freed would be able to pay enough so that he can get the landlord to get his food for him.

' _Rich bastard'_ He thought with a grin.

Despite looking for a short time, he decided not to get anything to eat. Freed had promised him that he knew of a Chinese takeout place that was to die for, so he would save his appetite. Although, after seeing Freed eat possibly the greasiest pizza on the planet after the party, Laxus wasn't entirely sure how much he could trust Freed's judgment on food.

But, the evening spent in the pizza place after they'd left the party was really nice. They'd spent the time talking about anything that came to mind and just enjoying the other's company, both riding the high of their kiss.

After closing the fridge, he walked towards the glass doors that lead to the back patio. A small key was in the lock, which he turned before opening the doors and walking outside. The outside of the villa was equally as impressive as the inside. The promised pool was fairly large and decorated with ornate tiles, there was a small seating area surrounding an unlit firepit, and to the side was an inbuilt barbeque that Laxus was determined to put to use some point in the week. But what caught his attention most was the view.

Walking towards the metal fence and leaning on it, Laxus was presented with an unhindered view of the ocean. The tide was high and the sea choppy, meaning Laxus could see and hear the waves slamming against the beach. Under the evening sun, the sight was beautiful.

He smiled a little, letting himself enjoy the moment of peace.

As his mind wandered, his smile slowly turned to a small frown. He hadn't really considered the implications of what being in a relationship with Freed would be. In the moments of silence, he found himself doing just that, and ended up feeling a little nervous about what would happen if he did begin to date him. Specifically, about how his life may change.

Until then, he'd been on the outside of luxury looking in by working with Freed, and he'd been comfortable with that. But, if he were to date Freed, he knew he would get to experience the luxurious side of life for himself.

That wasn't exactly a bad thing, of course. Simply put, Laxus wasn't a high-class kind of guy and didn't know if he could fit in with that lifestyle. He was brash, couldn't taste the difference between a dollar store wine and something from some fancy vineyard from Italy, and he was pretty sure that one of Freed's suits costed around the same as half of his own wardrobe. Maybe he was looking down on himself without needing to, but it was hard to deny that he and Freed came from different social standings, and that he would need to adjust to that.

Too wrapped up in his own mind, Laxus was unaware that Freed had walked through the double doors. So when Freed walked up to him and placed a hand softly on his back, standing beside him, it took him by surprise.

"Nice view isn't it?" He smiled, leaning against the fence.

"Great," Laxus smiled, looking over the large expanse of sand and crashing waves. There were a few people still on the beach, the distance made them little more than dots to Laxus. But he didn't pay attention to them, instead he could just feel Freed's hand still on his back. He felt comforted by that, in a way he couldn't quite explain.

"It's one of the best features of the house, I think. Oh, here," Freed smiled and lifted his right hand, which contained two opened bottles of beer. Laxus took on with a small grin. "I don't know if this brand is any good. The only other thing to drink I could find was a bottle of champagne, and I think I've had my fill for a year. I don't really see why it's so highly rated honestly, it doesn't serve a purpose other than being a status symbol for pretentious rich people."

"Suppose it does," Laxus chuckled. "Like the high-class version of comparing dick sizes, seeing who can buy more expensive booze."

"Exactly," Freed smiled, taking a gulp of the beer. He swallowed after a moment, deciding it tasted good enough to continue.

At this, the smile returned to Laxus' face. Sure, maybe he wasn't a high-class kind of guy, but neither was Freed in many ways. He wasn't some ego-maniac who thought money was the only important thing in the world, and he was someone Laxus could have fun with. And if Laxus did ever feel out of his depth, Freed had shown that he would back Laxus' corner if he needed it.

The blonde relaxed and looked back over the thundering ocean, content with himself as he took a sip of the cold beer. With Freed's hand still resting against his back, the sound of the ocean soothing his ears, and the gentle exhilaration of a week alone with Freed ahead of him, Laxus felt happy.

Yeah, this could work.

* * *

Laxus let out a large yawn as he leant against the kitchen counter, rubbing a hand across his face as the coffee pot heated up beside him. The clock on the oven beside him showed that it seven thirty in the morning; Laxus had awoken nearly twenty minutes ago and, after a weak attempt at returning to sleep, he had he left his bed and decided to start waking up properly rather than wasting time scrolling through his phone in a half-awake state.

The smell of caffeine filling his sense, Laxus thought back to the previous night. As it was relatively late when they'd arrived, they decided to order the Chinese food immediately – which turned out to be of a much higher quality than the pizza – and spend most of the night on the sofa watching TV and talking. It was nice; there was no stress and it was just… easy.

When they were forced to retire for the night, they decided they would make use of the two bedrooms rather than sleeping together. They didn't want to rush things or make anything awkward without needing to.

A soft beeping cut him out of his thoughts and he grabbed a mug from the cupboards, filling it with the drink and adding some cream. He cupped the mug and leant against the breakfast bar, allowing himself some time to get used to being awake. Despite being tired, the time spent with Freed the night before left him with the smallest of grins on his face. Something about being with Freed and not having to be secretive about his feelings left him feeling comfortable and happy, which was something he felt as though he had been missing for some time.

He was left alone for some time, and he settled on looking outside the kitchen window as the sun rose. He mindlessly sipped his coffee and watched the morning come to life, but turned when he heard a door open behind him.

Freed walked from the small hallway, wearing what was almost definitely his sleepwear with his hair tied in a similar, but messier, way that it had been at the party. When he looked up, he seemed a little shocked to see Laxus standing in the kitchen. The blonde grinned at this, raised his mug in greeting with a slightly cocky smirk on his face.

"G'morning," He chuckled, watching as Freed walked closer.

"Morning," Freed smiled a little, though the tiredness in his voice was obvious. Laxus assumed that Freed had woken up after him and was probably still pretty damn tired, so reached to pour the other man another mug of coffee. "I didn't expect you to be awake so early."

"Nah, neither did I really," He chuckled, handing Freed the coffee. "But, here I am. Maybe this is muscle memory or something. Gramps used to wake me up pretty much at dawn, said we needed to make the most of the time away instead of wasting it in bed. Probably got it in my head that vacations mean early mornings and I'll be awake early all week."

"There's worse things that could happen, I suppose," Freed chuckled.

Laxus watched as Freed walked to the breakfast bar, taking one of the stools and placing the mug on the counter before him. He wrapped his hands around the steaming coffee and Laxus walked to the other side of the counter, leaning against it so he was directly opposite Freed. He wore a small smile, watching as Freed began to speak again.

"It sounds like you enjoyed going away as a kid?" Freed smiled softly.

"Yeah, guess I did," Laxus smiled, bringing the coffee to his lips. "He started taking me after my mother… y'know. It gave me something to look forward to. At the start, I was still living with Ivan from time to time and, really, I liked the time away. Just gave me a week or two where I got to have fun. Every year we'd go to this amusement park by the sea; used to find it funny he couldn't get on half the rides. He'd pretend to be super offended by those 'you must be this tall to go on this ride' signs. Remember finding it hilarious."

"Sounds like fun," Freed chuckled, before his eyes went down slightly. "You… we got distracted on the roof and I haven't been able to ask since but, how are you now? About your mother."

The blonde leant his forearms against the counter, letting out a small exhale of breath and placing his coffee before him. He had been thinking about what had – or more accurately hadn't – happened between him and his mother. It had been the only other thing that had been on his mind other than the actual vacation, and he still hadn't decided what he would do about the issue.

And although he hadn't expected Freed to bring up the topic, he didn't feel uncomfortable about it. Freed seemed to be a good at helping Laxus talk through his problems and come to a conclusion that was actually productive. Another good attribute to being with Freed.

"I'm better than I was on the night," He eventually said. "Guess it was still kinda raw then. I mean, it's still shit that it happened but, y'know, complaining about it isn't gonna change anything."

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?" Freed asked, lifting the mug to his lips and resting it there, stopping himself short of drinking anything. "And I should say, if you don't want to talk about this then please don't feel obligated."

"No, I don't. Honestly, talking about shit with you, feels like I get shit done after it," He chuckled a little. "And I'm not exactly sure what I'm gonna do, but I have thought about it. I think I wanna talk to her again, not to forgive her or anything, just to end things. Wanna know why she didn't show up, maybe just get whatever I need to off of my chest, so I can stop letting her have some weird influence over me. That make sense?"

"I think so," Freed nodded. "So you want closure."

"Yeah," Laxus nodded, gulping down the remainder of his coffee. He placed the mug in the sink and turned back around, looking toward Freed again. He could see that Freed still had something he wanted to say but was stopping himself. He grinned and leant forward a little more. "Ain't like you to hold your tongue; what is it?"

"It's just… and again, please don't feel inclined to talk about this if you don't want to-"

"Spit it out, Justine," Laxus smirked, crossing his arms.

"Even after this, you still call her your mother. But your father you call Ivan," Freed was acting cautiously with his words, and Laxus couldn't help the smirk fall from his face into a small frown. "I just wondered what could have happened between the two of you to make that happen. You've… alluded to it a few times, but I'm not entirely sure what actually happened. And again, don't talk about it if you don't want to."

"Er, no. I think I should. I mean if this works out between us, you're gonna know eventually. Why not now," Laxus chuckled, albeit bitterly. "He was… he was a drunk. And not like an occasional drunk, all the time. Pretty much a fucking caricature."

"He didn't… hurt you or-"

"No. Well, not a lot. It's a little complicated."

Laxus let out another small sigh, running a hand through his hair. He hadn't talked about his father in quite some time. Honestly, he hadn't been close to someone who didn't know for years; Cana, Mira and Makarov were probably the people he was closest to until he'd met Freed, and they'd known about it pretty early on. Actually opening up about it was harder than he thought.

But that couldn't stop him. Freed was important to him, in perhaps a way he hadn't yet experienced. He knew that telling Freed was something he needed to do. He took a dry gulp and started to speak again.

"He was in jail a lot, I think I've said that already," Laxus continued, Freed nodding. "It was never for anything big really. Fights, drunk driving and shit. He never hurt anyone badly or anything but, y'know, the courts realised that the fines weren't working, and they needed to be tougher. Not that jail stopped him either, but yeah.

"Anyway, he was in and out all the time when I was a kid. Including when my mom left," The blonde sighed. "Some social service person realised. Don't really remember much about it, but they took me to some place and some woman asked me questions about him. After that they took me to… guess it was a playroom or something. Gramps was there, he told me that I might end up staying with him for a while."

Freed nodded a little, gently taking Laxus' hand in his own. The story sounded familiar, from a few of the people he'd been in care with. Although he hadn't experienced it, this sounded identical to the process a child went through when being taken away from their parents.

He felt Laxus grasp his hand tightly.

"We were there for a while. I didn't know what was going on, 'cause I was a kid, but I noticed gramps was acting weird," The blonde cast his eyes down towards the counter, frown not hidden. "After some time, I heard yelling. It was Ivan. Eventually he stormed into the room and he was obviously drunk; because of course he fuckin' was.

"He came at me. Called me a shit and a bastard, probably some other stuff as well. Picked up some toy or something – don't remember exactly what it was, but it was sharp – and, well..."

Instead of continuing, the blonde motioned towards the jagged scar that crossed his right eye. Freed's eyes widened a little, not sure of what to say at that information. He'd expected that neither the story of Laxus' relationship with his father nor the story of the scar would have happy endings, but he hadn't expected them to be connected. Or rather, he'd hoped for Laxus' shake that they wouldn't connect in any way.

"Shit," Was all he could say.

Laxus nodded slightly, looking back up to Freed. "A lot of things happened after that. Gramps and some guy got him off me and he was taken away. I got taken to hospital, was bleeding pretty badly. Bit of a blur after that. But yeah, that's the story of me and my darling father."

"Was that the last time you saw him?" Freed asked after a moment.

"No. Couple months after I had to go to some court trial about him to give some testimony or something, don't remember what it was for. Seen him a couple times after that. Once went to a jail open day thing when I was a teenager, ended up leaving half way through 'cause he was pissing me off. He came to Gramps' house after getting out once, he lost his apartment or something and wanted to stay the night. Gramps didn't let him in or anything, but we saw each other through the window. That's pretty much it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Freed said softly, raising Laxus' hand and gently kissing it. The sensation warmed him slightly.

"Yeah, well. Past's the past, all that shit," Laxus laughed a little. "Kinda glad I told ya though, you're a good listener."

Freed smiled a little but didn't reply. The silence that fell between them was hard to describe, but it wasn't awkward. It allowed Freed to full embrace what he had been told, there was a lot of information and it was obviously something that he wouldn't tell anyone, so Freed needed to make sure he could understand it completely, so he knew how to appropriately react. For Laxus, the silence allowed him to recover emotionally from admitting what he had.

Throughout the silence, their hands never broke apart. Freed had taken to stroking the palm of Laxus' hand, a small gesture that was oddly comforting and garnered the same reaction Laxus had felt when Freed's hand had been on his back the night before.

"I erm, I looked at what we could do around here," Laxus eventually spoke up, his voice less fragile than before.

"Did anything stand out to you?" Freed asked, smiling a little.

"Heard there's this island you can walk to when the tide's low. There's a ruined castle at the top of this hill you can climb, meant to have a pretty good view. Thought maybe we could check it out," Laxus smiled slightly in return. "That is, if you think you can handle the climb."

Freed raised an eyebrow. "You think you have better stamina than me?"

Laxus felt himself relax at how Freed had accepted his challenge. He knew it was a stark contrast to the conversation they had just had – a petty competition about athletic ability was pretty much the opposite of a vulnerable conversation about his childhood – but he needed the change. The fact that Freed had noticed this and was going along with it without saying something told Laxus that Freed really seemed to understand him. It made his heart beat just that little bit faster.

"I mean, I'm clearly fitter than you," Laxus grinned a little, removing his hand from Freed's and flexing his right bicep.

"Larger, not fitter," Freed corrected, smirking. "And because of that largeness, there's more of you to lug around, and a greater strain on your body. But it's nice you think you could keep up with me. Cute, even."

Laxus chuckled, crossing his arms again. Freed was almost certain he also flexed his arms to further prove his athletic superiority. He wasn't fazed by it.

"You challenging me?" Laxus smirked.

"I suppose I am," Freed chuckled. "Not a problem, is it?"

"Not at all," Laxus' voice was confident now. "Gonna hit the showers then. Don't wanna draw out your loss for longer than I need to."

"You know, you're awfully confident for someone so completely incorrect, Laxus," Freed's eyes narrowed. "So, how about this? Whoever asks to stop or complains about the walk first pays for dinner tonight at whatever place the winner wants?"

"Deal. You told me you didn't like curry, right?" Freed nodded. "Then you better have a big lunch, 'cause after I prove your tired ass wrong, you're paying for the hottest curry this town has."

Freed laughed slightly, not replying. Instead, he picked up his now empty mug of coffee and walked around the breakfast bar, placing it into the sink where Laxus' mug also stayed. He turned to walk towards the TV, as Laxus had claimed he was going to get a shower, but was stopped when Laxus' hand grabbed his again and he was pulled towards the blonde. Laxus carefully placed both hands on Freed's hips and gently placed their foreheads together, closing his eyes.

"Seriously, thanks for listening," He whispered. "It's never good talking about that, but I'm glad you know. So, thanks."

"Any time," Freed promised, voice equally as soft.

Laxus brought one of his hands up Freed's cheek and gently cupped it. They tilted their heads towards each other and indulged in a soft kiss that lasted short seconds, before they broke apart again. Both men wore soft smiles and Laxus carefully stroked the back of his hands against Freed's cheek; Freed noted that Laxus' skin was softer than he had expected. Or perhaps he was just more tender than Freed thoughts.

"Thanks," Laxus whispered.

The two broke apart, Laxus walking towards the bathroom with the smallest of blushes. He was still unused to kissing Freed but found the sensation as oddly addictive as it had been the first time it had happened. As he walked into his room and began to pick clothes for the day, he couldn't stop the smile from forming across his features.

He didn't know what the feeling was when he kissed Freed, but he knew it was good. He knew it was something he wanted to experience more.

* * *

Laxus was quickly realising something. He'd never sat back and appreciated Freed.

The middle of the day had recently passed, and the two men were sitting on the beach together. Despite the sun beating down and warming the sand and water, it was relatively quiet, and they had large amounts of space either side of them. The sound of the ocean was relaxing Laxus in the same way it had on the night of their arrival, and the feeling of the sand against his hands as he ran them through the soft grains reminded Laxus of when he tried making sandcastles in his youth.

The blonde found himself looking towards Freed, smiling softly. The other man was resting under a parasol, sans shirt, reading one of the books that he'd brought with him. He seemed too engrossed in the book to realise Laxus was looking at him, which worked in his favour as there was a lot for him to see.

Freed had told Laxus he enjoyed reading quite soon into knowing him, and that fact was obvious now. Not only was he turning pages at a pretty quick rate, but the expression he wore was of simple content. Laxus quite enjoyed seeing it.

His expression wasn't the only thing that had gathered Laxus' attention, though. Freed was hot. Whereas previously he would have dressed the statement up in a way that would make it seem less impropriate or blunt but, as this entire vacation was pretty much an elongated date, he didn't see the point in being subtle. The guy was hot, and shirtless. Laxus couldn't see anything wrong with admiring what was presented to him.

Besides, he was wearing his shirt open and had caught Freed looking, so it was mutual admiration.

But his admiration of the other man was cut short when he heard a small hissing sound. He looked back to the small, portable barbeque that was slowly cooking burgers, sausages and some kebabs. Laxus had always enjoyed cooking food on an open grill and seeing as though the beach was nowhere near anywhere serving food other than an old sandwiches, he'd suggested that he could cook for them. Freed had accepted the offer, so they'd visited a nearby supermarket to get anything they could want before they arrived.

He carefully pressed down on one of the burger patties before lifting it up and placing it on one of the empty plates that had been covered in kitchen paper. He pressed it down to remove and remaining fat before placing it on an open bun. He did the same to another of the patties, handing one burger to Freed.

"Here," He said, getting Freed's attention from his book. The gambler closed it and took the paper plate, sitting up so he could properly eat his lunch.

"Thanks," Freed smiled, leaning over towards the small table they'd set up to apply relish and some cheese to the meal.

"No problem," Laxus grinned, turning the sausages over so they didn't burn before adding onions, tomato and cheese to his own food. "And just so you know, this is nothing compared to what I could have made on the real thing I saw at the villa. Which means that, if this ends up tasting like burnt crap, you gotta think that this isn't the norm and you ain't allowed to judge me."

"I'll keep it in mind," Freed chuckled, before a smirk formed. "Although, there's an argument to be said that, if you can't make something palatable on something simple like this, you won't be able to make anything on a more complex piece of equipment."

Laxus raised his eyebrow. He knew he was being teased but took the bait. "Really?"

"I think so," Freed continued, still smirking. "You wouldn't let someone who burns toast have access to the kitchen of a five-star restaurant, after all."

Unable to stop the small smile from crossing his features, Laxus looked back to his food with a chuckle. "Eat your food, asshole."

Freed chuckled but did as he was instructed. Laxus followed his lead, trying to hide his smugness when he bit into what could be considered a pretty damn good burger. His eyes flickered towards Freed to see if the other man had the same reaction to the food. He was met with an expression that could only be described as the most passive looking a person could be after taking a pretty big bite of food. The fucker was actually using his poker face over a burger.

Deciding not to be outdone, Laxus placed his burger back onto the plate and looked at Freed with a small quirk in his eyebrow. He was pretty sure he could outlast Freed in being stubborn about petty things. Makarov had been his teacher, after all.

He was wrong though. Because when Freed finished his mouthful, he met Laxus' gaze and continued with his passive expression. Eventually, Laxus caved.

"How was it?" He asked, before muttering with a grin. "Smug-ass."

"Well, no matter how it tastes, it seems like you've got the language of a good chef," Freed chuckled. "But yes, it's delicious."

"Really," Laxus smirk intensified. If Freed had made Laxus work for the compliment, Laxus was going to milk the damn thing for all he could. "Would you say it's better than the place you forced me to pay for last night?"

Freed smiled a little. Under the terms of the bet they had made the previous day, Laxus had been forced to pay for a meal at whatever place Freed wished to dine at. The gambler had been half tempted to pick a place he knew Laxus wouldn't enjoy – Laxus threatened to do the same, after all – but he wasn't sure if there was a certain type of food that Laxus hated, so he'd decided to go to an English-style pub that he'd dined at before. The decision proved to be a good one, because they'd had a really nice night together.

The whole day had been good, actually. Sure, the climb to the top of the castle had been a little competitive, but it had meant the earlier conversation had been forgotten instead of making the rest of the day awkward. The view from the ruined castle was great as well, pretty romantic too; even if Freed had indulged in a little bragging about his victory.

He'd been careful not to boast too much though. He knew that, if Laxus hadn't been trying to show off, they would have both made it to the ruins without stopping or any complaining.

Too engrossed in the memory of the day before, Laxus didn't see Freed shift in his position. The blonde looked down when he felt a small pressure against his side, seeing that Freed had removed himself from the shade of the parasol and was leaning against his side. He could feel the heat of the man's back against his arm, and it sent a small chill down his spine. He paused with his burger half way towards his mouth, which Freed noted.

"This is okay, isn't it?" He asked, voice somewhat hesitant.

"Yeah. Its fine," Laxus nodded. He took a moment before adding. "Kinda nice, actually."

Freed didn't say anything after that, instead he relaxed slightly and continued eating. Laxus did the same, though the small chill in his spine persisted. He thought for a moment, before wiping down one of his hands with a napkin. He caught Freed looking from the corner of his eye but tried not to stop himself with the small burst of confidence he'd gained.

A moment later, he bit the bullet and wrapped an arm around Freed's shoulders.

Neither man spoke, and Laxus froze a little in the same way that Freed had a moment ago. But, when Freed shuffled a little closer, Laxus relaxed again and continued to eat his lunch. He had a small smile on his face as they sat in silence.

The sensation was weird. Good, definitely good. Even though the small act of intimacy was technically less intense than the kisses that they'd been sharing both on the night of the party and throughout the week so far, this felt more important. More… domestic. Something about that idea made Laxus feel kind of giddy inside; anything that could make him feel like this was more than just good. It was pretty fucking great.

Before he could stop himself, he leant down and pressed his lips against Freed's jaw in a quick kiss.

Freed paused for a moment, before shifting just a little closer towards Laxus. Again, they didn't say anything and instead just continued to eat. That continued for a little while, before Laxus was forced to lean forward and remove the food cooking before it burnt. He plated them both up a hotdog before putting two new burger patties on from the freezer-box to cook. After this, he returned to a position where Freed could lean against his side again.

"You know, I was thinking about what we talked about yesterday morning," Laxus said, Freed looking towards him. "If Gramps wasn't around, I would have been put into care, right? We could have known each other as kids."

"I suppose we could have," Freed nodded, looking a little thoughtful.

"Just kinda got me thinking, y'know. Guess we've had a lot of near misses. In meeting each other, I mean," Laxus looked down to Freed. "I mean, there's that. We go to the same gym, and I'm pretty sure we went there at the same time for a while. Kinda weird, you know?"

"Well, you did say you believed in fate, didn't you?" Freed chuckled. "You think we were at the gym at the same time?"

"Pretty sure, yeah," Laxus nodded. "You know Elfman, right? We used to work out a lot together, pretty similar weights. Anyway, when he wanted to be a trainer I think you helped him out or something, right?" Freed nodded. "I was there one of the days you were working with him. Honestly, found you kinda hot. We spoke in the locker room and Elf offered to give me your number or something."

Freed seemed to take a few seconds to think this through. Laxus had been living with the knowledge of his incredibly short-lived attraction to a younger Freed, he'd actually forgotten that Freed didn't know. He blushed a little as Freed's face turned from that of restrained confusion to enjoyment.

"You thought I was hot?" He didn't bother hiding the teasing tone. "Does that mean you've found me hot all the time we've known each other?"

"Fuck yourself," Laxus muttered good-naturedly, still blushing. He then added quietly. "And it wasn't from the start."

"I'm sure," He grinned. "And if it saves your pride, you're pretty damn hot yourself.

Freed chuckled but didn't push his luck further than that. Instead, he continued to eat his newly acquired hotdog and rested against Laxus again. He was quite flattered by the fact that Laxus had found him attractive from before their kiss on the roof. It was undeniable that Laxus was a good-looking man, so the knowledge that any attraction he had for Freed wasn't born from the kiss gave the gambler a small ego boost.

Not that he needed one. The gloating over winning a bet with Laxus proved that quite easily.

"I'm glad we met in the way we did, though," Laxus continued after a few moments. "I was kind of a dick when I was a teenager, people didn't tend to like me. And, you know, how we did meet made things easy. Like, there wasn't any stress or anything, it just kinda happened."

"Yeah, I agree," Freed said with a smile. "Definitely."

The conversation ended there, with both men in the partial embrace of having Freed leaning against Laxus, whose arm was wrapped around his shoulders. They both wore content smiled and Laxus bared the partial remanence of a blush from their earlier discussion. The sound of the waves, the smell of the warming food, the feeling of sand against their skin; it all added to the moment to make a near perfect experience.

This was something Laxus deserved. Something he wanted.

* * *

"I have to say Laxus, I'm a little concerned."

Laxus crossed his arms at the sheer cockiness that was coming from Freed's words. It was early evening and the two were in the patio of the villa, standing either side of a table-tennis table. Freed was twirling his bat in his hand, his expression filled with confidence. Annoyingly, the confidence was justified as they'd been playing for the better part of half an hour and, so far, Laxus had won about one fifth of the sets they'd played.

After picking up the small plastic ball, Laxus leant on the table and accepted that he would have to deal with more of the cocky side of Freed. He expected this was how he acted when Freed won against a 'client' he didn't like; Laxus was pretty sure the clients wouldn't find the cockiness kind of hot like he did, though.

"And why is that?" Laxus asked, deciding to humour him.

"Well, you've been driving me around for quite some time," Freed continued. "But, I think if tonight's proven anything, it's that your hand-eye coordination leaves much to be desired. Is it a miracle that we haven't crashed yet because of it?"

"No, not a miracle we haven't crashed," Laxus decided he would rather join in on the fun than be a victim of it. "Might be a miracle if you walk out unhurt the next time I drive you someplace, though."

Freed chuckled, glad that Laxus was going to join in. The gambler was aware that this flirty competitive aspect he'd added into their relationship throughout the week could be seen as just arrogance, the fact that Laxus knew it was light-hearted reaffirmed Freed's conclusion that he and Laxus were pretty well suited for each other. His smirk intensified a little as he replied.

"Did I offend you? If I did I'm very sorry."

He wasn't, and the sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss. But that was okay, because Laxus wasn't offended; he was enjoying it. The blonde watched as Freed placed his bat on the table and walked to the side, standing by the centre line. Seeing this as a tiny, petty challenge, Laxus decided to so the same so they were practically standing chest to chest. They stared at each other for a short moment, both holding back grins.

In the close proximity, Laxus started to admire Freed again. His hair was in its usual style, he was wearing a loose white shirt that was unbuttoned enough to reveal all of his chest and some of his stomach. He looked damn handsome under the light of the flickering fire pit, and Laxus felt his insides flip slightly.

"I ain't offended," Laxus continued, trying to ignore the sensation in his stomach. "Just thinking that it's funny how in your villa, we're playing a game that you happen to be good at. Kinda convenient, don't you think?"

"Oh," Freed hummed, smirking. "Are you implying I'm cheating in some way?"

"Not cheatin', just giving yourself an advantage," Laxus grinned. "It'd be interesting to see who'd win if we had an even playing field."

Freed chuckled. He ran a hand up Laxus' right arm before keeping it on the back of his neck. He pulled Laxus a little closer and leant upwards, taking him into a soft kiss. There was a little more passion behind it than before, and Laxus had wrapped an arm around Freed's waist to pull him a little closer. Their bodies were practically flushed against each other, and they made sure to savour every moment of the kiss.

It was undeniable that they'd become more physical now. It wasn't a total shift, but after the small gesture on the beach earlier in the day, they both felt as though they could do more than just kiss each other. It was something both men were making the most of.

Although they'd spent most of the day on the beach, they'd been forced to return home when it began to rain without much warning; perhaps it was forecast and that was why the beach was relatively empty. After they'd returned home, they'd spent the rest of the day on the sofa, watching crappy movies from the eighties on some unknown TV channel they'd stumbled across while eating an assortment of snacks they'd found in the kitchen and drinking tea and coffee. Again, even though nothing much happened out of the ordinary, the domestic nature made Laxus feel enthralled in a way he couldn't put into words.

The kiss lasted a few short moments, but it felt longer. When they pulled apart, they both decided that they would rather rest their foreheads together than pull apart. They both wore soft smiles, enjoying the closeness.

"You want an even playing field then," Freed whispered, and Laxus could see his smirk form again. "Any suggestions on how we could so that, so I can prove you wrong?"

"I got one, actually," It was Laxus' voice that was mischievous now. "We can see who can stay underwater longer."

Freed seemed to frown, obviously not expecting something close to a real answer to his question. Laxus used this moment of distraction, using the arm he had wrapped around Freed's waist to haul the man up off the ground. He saw Freed's eyes widen a little at the sudden movement, which increased Laxus' grin. Before Freed could do anything to react, he took the few steps towards the illuminated pool and dropped him in the deeper end.

Laxus relished the sight as Freed resurfaced. The pool was obviously freezing cold and, although he hadn't let out a squeal as Laxus had hoped, the poker face had fallen and shock was obvious. Laxus grinned and looked down at Freed as he moved his sodden hair out of his face.

"Think you lasted about four seconds before you left," He grinned. "Don't really see how you're gonna prove me wrong with that."

"I'm going to kill you, Dreyar," Freed said with a glare, though a smile broke past it. "Or perhaps you just wanted to see what I look like wet."

"No, just wanted to piss you off," Laxus grinned. "You bein' wet is just a happy accident."

The blonde chuckled again and watched as Freed started treading water; the pool really was deep given that his torso was completely submerged, and his feet didn't touch the ground. Laxus smiled and walked towards the edge of the pool, seeing Freed eye him with curiosity. He offered his hand to the gambler, who seemed to analyse it for a moment before his eyes flickered back to Laxus' face. His eyebrow was raised, and a small grin formed on his face.

"You are aware I'm going to pull you in, aren't you?"

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't," Laxus grinned, hand still there for Freed to take. "Well, I'd be disappointed if you didn't try. Not sure if you could actually pull me down."

Freed took the challenge. He grabbed the outstretched – and Laxus noted that the grip he used was pretty damn strong, Freed had mentioned fencing once – and yanked the blonde forward. Laxus didn't put up much of a fight, but he felt that the outcome would probably be the same even if he had. The outcome being that Laxus was dragged into the freezing pool with a pretty big splash.

Laxus took a moment to acclimatise, letting out a shivering breath and wiping his eyes free of the chlorine. His grey t-shirt was now clinging to his body in a similar way that Freed's shirt did to him, and Laxus found himself thankful that they'd both left their phones inside.

"You were saying?" Freed taunted.

Although he turned to Freed with the intention of rebutting his comment, he stopped. Now eye level with him, he found himself enraptured by the man before him. Droplets of water were still flowing down his face; his hair was pressed against his head in a way that gave Laxus an unhindered view of all his features; and the wetness of his clothing meant the other mans muscular figure was obvious. Laxus allowed himself to take the sight in before him, Freed doing the same with Laxus.

After they'd both indulged in the sight of the other, their eyes met. Freed was still treading water, something Laxus didn't need to do with the height over him and how he was in a slightly shallower part of the pool. No words were exchanged, they weren't needed.

Laxus wrapped his arm around Freed's waist again and pulled him into a hungered kiss.

Their tongues putted against each other and they leant as far into each other as they could. Both their heads were tilted, and their clothes rubbed against each other, the friction strong with the wetness, but neither cared. The crackling of the firepit did little to drown out the sound of gentle splashing and the soft breaking of their lips before they immediately came back together. This kiss was different to the others. More erratic. More needy.

In his mind, Laxus' thoughts were certain. He deserved this. This was the first time he'd been in a relationship in a long time, and he had earned a guy like Freed. And Freed wanted him too, he'd said it himself earlier. They both liked each other, thought the other was hot, so why shouldn't he do this.

Freed's hand ran into Laxus' drenched hair, and he began to carefully tug at it. This only intensified Laxus' kissing, as he brought his other hand to cup the back of Freed's neck to pull him closer. The kiss was getting faster by the second, and their eyes were closed so that each other was all they could experience. Their feeling of strong bodies pressed tight against each other, the smell of their deodorants and cologne mixing with the chlorine in the water, the taste of each other's mouths on their own.

Who cared if Freed was his boss. They were both adults, both men who could make their own damn minds up. Laxus didn't need to think about any of that, not any more. He liked Freed, Freed liked him. They both wanted the same thing. What else was there to say?

Eventually, they were forced to pull apart for breath. Their lips still rested against each other and their eyes opened, engrossed in the sight of the other. Moments passed with only slight panting as neither moved their hands from where they had landed at the kiss's end, and Laxus felt his lips tug into the smallest of smiles. He felt the fire in his stomach double when Freed's lips did the same; this man had an effect on him that he couldn't describe, but damn he loved it.

"Getting pretty late," Laxus whispered, voice somewhat hoarse. "You wanna maybe…"

He didn't finish the sentence but nodded towards the open doors.

"Together?" Freed asked softly. Laxus nodded a little. "Yeah, that'd be- yeah. I do."

"Good." Laxus' smile widened a little more. "That's good. Really good."

This was something that he deserved. It was something that he was owed by fate. More than that, it was something he fucking wanted.

And now was his time to take it.


	18. Chapter 18 - The Night Falls

**Hi everyone. So, if you couldn't guess by what had happened last chapter, this will be NSFW. I understand not everyone wants to read that, so this chapter only contains a sex scene so you can skip it if you want. And because I don't want people to miss out if they don't like smut, they'll be another chapter published this week. Hopefully Thursday morning, if everything goes well.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen – The Night Falls**

Lips clasped against each other in a shared need, Freed and Laxus were engrossed by one another.

They were in Freed's bedroom, it was closest. They'd retreated there after leaving the pool, and the moment the door was closed they were on each other. Laxus had initiated it, kissing Freed hard against the door and running his hand up his sides. Freed had gladly reciprocated, slightly tugging at Laxus' hair as he pulled him closer.

Both men were still soaking wet, but neither cared. The house was warm and their minds too preoccupied by each other, the wetness of their clothing was the last thing on either mans mind. Specifically when they both knew those clothes would most likely be discarded soon.

Laxus' hands continued to roam around Freed's form, appreciating it in a new way. He could feel the strength on the man's arms, the curvature of muscle in his biceps as he flexed slightly. The obvious strength of the man sent an exhilarated thrill through Laxus' blood; he knew Freed was a strong man, the time at the beach before had proven that, but being able to feel it in this moment of lust shared between them was nothing short of electrifying.

Again, with everything in reference to Freed, Laxus was addicted.

Driven by this electric feeling, Laxus' hands trailed to Freed's torso. He began to unbutton Freed's shirt, a task made more difficult by the water. But that was fine, he'd soon made good work of them and was pushing the clothing off Freed's arms. It was tossed to the floor a moment later.

They'd pulled apart for breath, giving Laxus the chance to take in Freed in this new light. His body was flawless. Remaining droplets of water slid down from his sharp collarbones, trailing down towards a perfectly sculpted chest. Further down, the man's stomach was covered by the most delectable, drool-inducing set of abs Laxus had the pleasure of seeing. He knew that, if he were to run his hands over them, he would feel the full extent of strength and power Freed had to offer. And damn did he want to feel that.

"Fuck," He whispered, voice croaking slightly.

Freed's eyes shot up in the quiet exclamation. He'd been allowing his eyes to scan Laxus' body in the way Laxus had done to him. The blonde's shirt was sticking tight to him now, and his muscular figure was clearly shown. It had sent a small chill down the gambler's spine; he knew Laxus was akin to a bodybuilder but seeing the muscle hidden only by a thin layer of clothing was a feeling unmatched.

Laxus must have seen this, as he gained a small cocky smirk. He removed his shirt slowly, flexing a little in silent teasing as he knew Freed would if the roles were reversed.

Taking a moment to appreciate the erotic sight before him, Freed practically licked his lips. He'd been teased by Laxus' body multiple times over the vacation, but having it laid out for him only a foot away made up for that teasing tenfold. With a look of reignited passion burning in his eyes – which doubled the feeling of electricity in the blonde's stomach – Freed grabbed Laxus' belt with his right hand and tugged him forward.

They were kissing again, Laxus pushing Freed against the door with his thighs as his hands ran over the strong stomach of his lover. Freed pulled his lips off of Laxus', bringing them to the now fully exposed neck and gently attacking it, intending to leave a mark. Laxus panted a little at the gesture, looking up with the slightest widening of his eyes.

This lasted a few moments, and Laxus knew there would be a red mark that would take some time to leave, but he didn't care. He pulled Freed' back into a passionate kiss again, pushing a little further against the door in petty revenge for the inevitable hickey that he'd been gifted.

But that revenge was soon forgotten as they got back into the rhythm of kissing again. It seemed natural now, they knew what the other wanted and how they worked. It seemed second nature, and they'd both quickly started to love the feeling. But now, with the skin on skin contact of their chests sliding against each other, the kiss was nothing short of flawless.

With a quick shift born of slightly impatience, Laxus took the next step. His right knee took the place between Freed's slightly parted legs. Freed noticed this and, running slightly on the lust between the two men, raised his hips slightly to meet the inch sized gap. Laxus was spurred on by this, and further raised his leg during the kiss to softly grind it against the other man's body. Freed let out a small gasp at the contact, making Laxus grin at the effect he was having.

Freed was quick to adjust. His hands slowly slid across Laxus' strong torso, going far enough down that Laxus could feel the light touches at the bottom of his stomach. The hand got lower and lower, closer and closer to Laxus' own crotch, before Freed ran his hands back up again in a way that was clearly intending to tease. If the short intake of breath was to be trusted, it had worked.

There was a competitive edge to their actions. It felt they were trying to one-up each other through the light pleasure they were undergoing. Something new to Laxus, but god was he enjoying it.

These actions continued for a short while. Making out against each other with lust in their eyes, strong bodies pressed close and touches borderline teasing, both men were in a pleasure fuelled heaven. The competition was once again forgotten, Laxus embracing the feeling of Freed's strong hands against his body for the first time and Freed relishing against the pressure of Laxus' leg against his crotch. Eventually, it became too much.

"Bed," Freed spoke, his word equal parts a request and demand.

"Yeah," Laxus replied, breathless.

They were on the bed a moment later. Laxus was sitting with his back against the headboard, Freed straddling him with his knees either side of Laxus' hips. They were looking at each other, admiration on both of their expressions as they took a few moments of respite before returning.

Looking up at Freed, Laxus realised just how good looking the man was. He was equal parts handsome, beautiful and unashamedly sexy at once. His sharp and well-defined features demanded attention, both delicate and masculine simultaneously. His hair was loose for perhaps the first time Laxus had seen it, the tie he used was on the floor beside his shirt, and it was a beautiful sight and it complimented the slight smirk on Freed's face.

He looked both angelic and demonic at once. An erotic contradiction that flew straight between Laxus' thighs.

Reaching up, he entangled his hands in the silky, wet hair. He softly pulled Freed close to him again in another strong kiss. The rhythm returned and Laxus found himself leaning up, wanting to be as close to his lover as he possibly could. He could feel Freed's strong torso running against him and found himself craving more. Craving whatever Freed was willing to give him.

Freed seemed to know this by instinct, as his hands began to roam against him again. But it was different this time. The touches weren't light or gentle, they were strong and commanding. Laxus suspected Freed was just as impatient as he was, and Laxus was loving it.

He believed he couldn't feel better than he did at that moment. The feeling of Freed's hands demanding his attention, the lips against his owns, that strong thighs that straddled him and kept him against the bed. Laxus grabbed the waistband of Freed's shorts in a similar way Freed had done before, pulling him closer with one hand. He groaned as he felt Freed's ass shift against his now hard, trapped cock.

The competition had dissipated completely now. Laxus felt amazing and wanted Freed to feel the same. He ran his hands over Freed's hard stomach – each curve of muscle reigniting his arousal – and going further and further down. He stopped short of Freed's crotch, not to tease him but to be sure. He looked at Freed with hard, questioning eyes.

Freed nodded, and Laxus stomach exploded in passion.

Working quickly, Laxus undid the fly of Freed's shorts and pulled out his hard dick, still covered by wet, black boxers. He took it in his right hand, hearing a quiet moan slip through Freed's lips as he gave his cock a gentle squeeze. It was hard, a pretty good size and straining against the confines of Freed's tight boxers.

He slowly began to pump Freed's dick in a slow, rhythmic motion. He looked towards the gambler's face with the smallest of grins, Freed's jaw was slightly slacked, and eyes closed at the friction his cock was receiving. The expression spurred Laxus on, and his pumping got faster, more adventurous. The sharp breaths Freed was releasing, and the strangled moans proved that what he was doing was working, and Laxus wanted to see and hear more. Freed was so fucking addictive.

Wanting more, Laxus shifted again and released Freed's dick. The gambler looked down, to see that Laxus was pushing his boxers down enough for his hard member to spring out. He could see Laxus look towards his freed cock, and his throat lift in a slight gulp. Freed went to smirk, but it fell as quickly as it formed.

The blonde had taken Freed's dick in his hand, pumping it slowly. The strangled moans and breaths were louder this time, and the expression of arousal on Freed's face practically that of ecstasy. It went straight to Laxus' own dick, which was pulsing hard under the pressure of Freed's bodyweight. Laxus slowly began to increase the speed of his hand movements, using the nail on his thumb to give Freed an extra layer of pleasure, and it worked.

"Shit," Freed panted, bucking his hips slightly. "S-shit."

Laxus grinned, relishing in the effect he was having. He needed to hear more. Pulling down on Freed's now throbbing cock, he pressed his thumb against the tip of his sensitive member. Freed allowed a quiet moan to slip through his lips.

He pumped faster and faster. Freed's reactions were hotter than Laxus could have thought possible, and every quivering breath was making the blonde's cock pulse in his shorts and demand more. And the faster he moved his hand; the louder and more unashamed Freed became with his enjoyment of his actions.

"Laxus," Freed panted. "Laxus, wait."

Although his voice cracked, Laxus heard the request and brought the pumping to a stop and looked at Freed with a mixture of lust and confusion. He'd thought Freed had been enjoying it, but if he wanted to stop then he would. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Freed cut him off before he could speak with a soft kiss.

"Hardly seems fair I'm the only one getting attention," Freed whispered into Laxus' ear, the softness of his voice sending thrills through the blonde. "Don't you think?"

Before Laxus could say anything, Freed shifted. They were kissing again, and Freed's hand were slowly groping at his dick through his shorts. Laxus' eyes shot open wide, and he couldn't help but buck his hips at the strong grasp that was teasing him. Freed grinned, bringing him closer to deliver a kiss with more power than before. Laxus was trying and failing to keep up with the kiss, but the sensation of a foreign hand tugging at his dick made that near impossible.

Freed noticed this but didn't stop his amazing assault. Instead, he broke the kiss and started on making another large mark on Laxus' body with his teeth. The blonde's jaw fell, head pushing against the headboard as he bucked up.

His eyes shot open wide as, just like he had done minutes ago, Freed's hand entered his underwear and began to stroke his dick. The skin on skin contact was intense, making the groping over his shorts feel like nothing in comparison. Laxus couldn't stop the loud groan of pleasure from slipping through his lips, and once that happened he couldn't be stopped. A stream of pleasure filled words and sounds started to bleed through as he pushed against the headboard of the bed.

"Fuck," Laxus whined, sweating now. "Holy fuck that's good. Fuck."

Laxus raised his hips off the bed, holding himself in the air to enhance the sensation of pleasure he was feeling. He let out a silenced breath, eyes clenched shut as Freed held back his foreskin to draw out the feeling. The blonde's throat croaked a little with that.

"I-I- Fuck that's good…" Laxus tried to speak, but the words broke as his breath did.

Freed chuckled but pressed their lips together again in a strong kiss. Their tongues toyed with each other, lips breaking apart and reconnecting nearly every second to find the best access to each other's mouth. Freed was pressed against Laxus completely now; muscle against muscle, man against man, sweat against sweat.

The gambler's hands were still stroking against Laxus' dick, though lacked the finesse that it had before when it was the sole focus. Laxus shifted so his leg was running between Freed's, so his lover had at least a fraction of the pleasure he was feeling.

With the kiss deepening again, Laxus' hands ran through Freed's hair. He slowly slid them down his back, feeling the strong muscle that filled the other man's body. With a small amount of confidence that he hadn't felt before, his hands begun to pull at the belt around Freed's shorts. He tugged it off and tossed it to the floor, then hooking his fingers around the waistband of the other mans shorts. He started to pull them down, Freed breaking the kiss to remove his shorts fully. Laxus watched, breath catching in his throat.

He knew it shouldn't shock him, but Freed practically made him drool. Now only in the tight black boxers that barely reached his thighs, with his flawless dick released from them, Freed looked like a damn model. The fact he was straddling him only further added to effect Freed had on him.

But, as Laxus was relishing in the god-like man before him, Freed acted. He started to work on removing Laxus' own shorts. The blonde watched with wide eyes as his belt was removed, lifting his hips up enough for the clothing to be tugged down and tossed to the side. Now lying only in a pair of grey boxers, made equally tight as Freed's as well as slightly transparent by the water they'd been submerged in, he felt nauseatingly turned on.

They both stopped for a moment. Both near a naked state, they relished in the sight of each other. Both were panting from making out, chests heaving as they allowed their stamina to recover. They seemed enamoured at the sight presented, and Laxus felt the electric feeling roar inside of him, screaming at him to continue.

Freed must have felt it too, because he leant down exactly the same moment Laxus leant up.

Kissing with more hunger than before, nothing was off limits. There was no shyness, no hesitance. Their bodies were one another's now, and this was a rite they were going to make advantage of. Freed's leg was slowly running against Laxus' bare dick, making the blonde moan and eyes flutter between open and shut. Laxus himself had brought one hand behind Freed's head, the other groping his ass without shame nor restrained. Fuck, even the feeling of his ass was fantastic.

"Shit," Freed whispered, voice shuddering. "Oh shit."

Laxus moaned slightly, the cause both a mixture of the friction of Freed's strong thigh against his pulsing dick and the sounds coming from his lover. The blonde had always found it hot when his partner showed the pleasure they were in and having a man like Freed moaning because of him was exhilaratingly erotic!

The gambler's hand shot back down to Laxus' dick, stroking it again with no elegance nor fineness. Laxus didn't need it, both men were running on lust now.

Bucking his hips up, Laxus couldn't stop himself from moaning. The blood was rushing down, and the feeling of orgasm was rushing towards him. He removed his hand from Freed's ass – as much as he didn't want to – and clenched his fingers around the damp sheets.

"Freed," Laxus tried again, breath ragged. "I-I'm gonna cum. Shit."

"And that's a bad thing?" Freed taunted slightly, tone sending shivers down Laxus' spine.

"N-no, but… Kinda wanted to do more than this tonight," Laxus panted, trying not to buck into the hand wrapped around his dick. "I mean, if you-"

"Yeah, I do," Freed smiled a little.

"Great," The blonde grinned a little, running a hand through his messy, wet hair to get it from his eyes. "You, erm, you got anything for…" He jutted his chin down.

"Bedside table, top drawer," Freed panted. "In a box."

Laxus nodded. The two shifted and Laxus crouched before the bedside table, quickly routing through the pairs of boxers Freed had stored there before finding a small wooden box. He unlatched it and saw a small box of condoms and a bottle of lube. He pulled out the bottle and a single condom, ripping open the paper with his teeth and pulling the rubber out.

He started to slide it down his hard dick, making an effort not to look at Freed. He was still on the brink of orgasm and didn't have any intention of crossing the edge while not being touched by his lover. However, when the condom was half way down his dick, he frowned a little.

"You're okay with me, erm…" He nodded down to his dick. "Me, being the-"

"Laxus," Freed spoke, and Laxus only then realised the hoarseness of the other man's tone. "Follow your instincts."

The tone of voice made Laxus shiver, and he looked towards Freed in time to see him lean down. He cupped Laxus' jaw with one hand and brought him into a soft kiss. Laxus let out a slight moan at the contact, pushing up towards his lover to deepen the contact. The kiss only lasted moments, though, before Freed pulled away with a smirk toying on his lips. But that wasn't the main event.

Freed was stripped completely now. His boxers gone, Laxus could see the tall, muscular figure and long, pulsing dick needing attention without anything to hide him. It was hot, so fucking hot. Again, a thrill ran through his body at his lover's expense.

"But follow them quickly," Freed whispered. "In matters like this, you may find me quite impatient."

A growl that Laxus didn't know was forming left his lips, and his actions were quick. He finished rolling the condom down his dick, tossed his boxers to the side, and then applied a healthy amount of lube to his hands. As he ran it over his dick, biting his lip at the contact he felt, he could see Freed smirking a little. Asshole was enjoying the show.

With the bottle of lube still in hand, he climbed back onto the bed in a quick movement. He caught Freed's lips with his own, positioning so they were both lying face down side by side. His hand ran down Freed's spine, a smirk now on his features as he heard Freed gasp sharply the lower he got.

Quickly coating his hand in lube, Laxus started to kiss his lover again. His movements were somewhat cautious as he slowly began to push a finger into Freed's ass. He heard a small gasp during the kiss but, once Freed's lips started to move against his again, Laxus slowly started to push further. He felt Freed shiver slightly as his lube-covered finger started to push down further and spread slightly.

Feeling confident, the blonde slowly pushed in a second finger.

The reaction he got was fantastic. Whereas before Freed had obviously holding back his pleasure, he no longer could. A loud moan reverberated slightly against his lips that made Laxus' stomach roar with both exhilaration and pride. He pushed down a little further, another moan leaving Freed's lips.

Bringing him into another kiss, Laxus slowly began to finger Freed with soft movements. Freed continued to moan into the pillow until Laxus stroked his insides in a particular way that made Freed pause and gasp. Laxus couldn't hold his grin.

There it was!

"Ready?" Laxus asked, Freed nodding.

Shifting again, Laxus moved so he was leaning over Freed. The breath caught in his throat as he looked down. Freed's body was a perfect mix of soft, delicate looking skin and strong, well trained muscle. The perfect curve of his back went straight to his dick, and passion roared in his stomach at the sight before him. He knew that he would be able to get off simply to the beauty of the man before him, but he wanted more. So much more.

Carefully, he removed his fingers from the tightness of Freed's ass. He slowly slid his cock inside, made easy by the lube. He pushed down until his shaft was half enveloped, pressing his body against Freed's. He parted the man's hair and slowly pressed his lips against his neck.

"Tell me when you're ready, 'kay," He whispered, Freed nodding.

"A minute," Freed requested.

During the time Freed acclimatized to the new sensation, Laxus began to slowly kiss and nibble at the man's neck; only partly to get revenge for his own hickeys. Balancing himself on one hand, the other intertwined with the hand Freed was using to clutch at the sheets. He could see Freed smile a little at that.

"Ready?" Laxus asked after a moment. Freed nodded, squeezing Laxus' hand to remove any doubt.

Laxus slowly started to gyrate his hips and, dear god, it was fantastic. The tightness of Freed's ass was heavenly as he slowly started to thrust. A loud moan split apart Laxus' lips as the intense warmth and friction ran around his body in a wave of orgasm inducing tingles.

He was already close. But not yet.

As he heard Freed's pleasure at his actions, Laxus began to move a little faster and with a little more gusto. He raised his hips so his dick nearly left the warmth of his lover's ass before sliding down. As he nearly buried his dick in its entirety, both men groaned. His hand tightened around Freed's as he clenched himself, holding back the urge to let go as the feeling of oncoming orgasm rocked his body hard.

Faster. He needed to go faster.

Thrusting with more speed, Laxus began to pant audibly. Freed started to push himself up now and both men were sweating, the feeling of skin against skin driving both men mad. With every sharp thrust, Laxus felt himself brought closer and he knew he wasn't going to last long. Freed was so fucking sexy, so fucking tight.

He wasn't ready. Freed needed to cum first, that's what Laxus wanted to push him over the edge.

He removed his hand from Freed's clenched fist and wrapped it around the gambler's waist. He took the man's pulsing dick, pumping it fast and with strength. He slid his thumb against the head of the dick, stroking it in time with his fast thrusts. Freed bucked his hips in time with it, both men moaning and groaning at the intense pleasure they were going through.

Close. So fucking close.

The stroking got more manic and the thrusting got more erratic. Freed was gasping heavily, jaw slacked as he was fucked hard by his lover. Laxus had gritted teeth, still trying desperately to stretch the feeling out for as long as he could. This was heaven, right here was paradise and nothing could convince him otherwise.

He couldn't hold on much longer.

After a powerful thrust combined with a hard stroke, Freed let out a loud, unashamed moan. His body tensed and Laxus felt Freed's balls retract slightly. The gambler's dick pulsed and soon hot cum was shot onto both the blonde's hand and the sheets below them. The moan turned into a long, quivering exhale of breath as orgasm rocked his body, leaving him to mindlessly rut against the thrusts of Laxus' dick. The orgasm seemed to last for an age, and the gambler was left a sweating, panting mess.

This was it.

The tightening of Freed's constricting ass around his dick mixed with the beautiful sounds of Freed's orgasm and sent him over the edge. A sound bordering both a moan and roar came from the blonde as his body convulsed. A shiver ran across him, his thrusting became faster still, and his dick erupted in one of the most powerful orgasms he'd felt in quite a long time. Cum filled the condom as his thrusts slowed down and he collapsed onto his lover, both men satisfied and exhausted.

Holy shit.

Holy shit!

They both remained like that for a few moments. Eventually, Laxus pulled out and deposited the filled condom into the trash can in the room. He then returned to the bed, seeing Freed was now lying face up, looking as flushed and exhausted as Laxus felt. The blonde smiled a little, not having the energy to smirk or grin.

Wordlessly, he picked out some tissues and carefully cleaned Freed's dick. He tossed them into the trash as well, before kicking their discarded clothes to the corner of the room and collapsing onto the bed. He was face down, head on the pillows looking towards Freed. He wrapped an arm over Freed's sweat covered chest, smiling tiredly as he pulled the other man closer. He pressed his lips against the man's shoulder, where his face had landed, before pulling his lover a little closer, smile practically delirious.

Freed seemed to be wearing a content smile as well, and he ran his hand through Laxus' hair to get it from his eyes. The blonde locks were still slightly wet, from both sweat and the pool water.

"We should probably shower," Freed whispered.

"Probably. D'you really wanna get up now?" Laxus smiled when Freed chuckled a little and shook his head no. "Me neither."

The gambler leant forward and pressed his lips against Laxus' in a chaste kiss. He curled his body a little, still letting Laxus rest his head on his shoulder as they rested. It allowed them both to look at each other, and Laxus had never seen such a clear personification of after-sex glow. Freed was practically radiant, but Laxus should expect that by now.

"You know," Freed continued, voice soft and containing a little chuckle. "If we decide that we don't want to get together, this night is going to make things really awkward."

"I honestly couldn't care less right now," Laxus murmured with a smile. "And I know your joking, before ya worry or some shit. Just wanna sleep, get kinda tired after…"

Freed nodded. He reached up and pressed his lips against Laxus' for a final time that night, before sitting up and turning the lights off. With the lights in the room now off, the scene was plunged into darkness. The covers were strewn to the side of the bed and neither man was going to change that. Freed returned to his previous position and allowed Laxus to wrap his arm around his torso and pull him close. Freed smiled a little, enjoying the small act of intimacy with the man.

They were silent for a moment and shifted so that their foreheads were gently touching. Laxus managed to find Freed's hand and intertwined their fingers together. The blonde closed his eyes, allowing the small amount of tiredness to take over as his eyes closed,

"Night Freed," Laxus whispered.

"Goodnight, Laxus."

With nothing more to say, the room fell into silence. For the first time, the two men fell asleep in each other's arms, sharing a bed and relishing in the pleasure and joy they could give each other.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Quiet Morning

**Hey everyone. Happy bonus upload! For those who skipped the last chapter and want to know what happened, it only consisted of a sex scene which ended with them falling asleep in the same bed. This chapter follows on from the next morning and does allude to the last chapter. There's nothing graphic, so don't worry :)**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen – The Quiet Morning**

Laxus had woken up first. He had done so with a smile on his face.

Looking around with slightly blurred sight, there was a few differences from what he remembered of the night before. The covers were pulled over them both rather than being scrunched up at the foot of the bed; he was no longer lying on Freed's shoulder, instead their foreheads were nearly connected; and now light was flittering through the closed blinds whereas previously there had been the dark of the night. So yeah, a little different from the night before, but that wasn't bad.

No, scratch that. It was great. Because all the small details that had changed were nothing compared to the one large fact that had remained the same. This fact was that he'd both fallen asleep and woken up beside Freed Justine.

And damn did that outweigh anything he could think of in importance.

Freed was still sleeping and looked pretty peaceful while doing so. Not that his face looked particularly tense when awake, but Laxus saw a certain calmness to his sleeping features that he liked. The gambler's chest was rising and falling slightly with his breath, taking Laxus' arm that rested on it with it, and his hair was a little messy. But what really thrilled Laxus was how close they were, how their noses nearly touched and how he could feel warmth radiate slightly from his sleeping bedpartner.

He could kiss him without moving if he wanted. But he wouldn't, not yet at least. The gambler looked too content in his sleep for Laxus to wake him up, it would be immoral to do so. Besides – and Laxus couldn't stop the grin when he thought about this – the other man might need to recover some energy after what had happened the night before.

The grin soon turned to a soft smile. The night had been brilliant – someone less adverse to clichés may have called it magical. Laxus didn't often have relationships, opting more for the occasional one-night stand whenever the need became too obstinate, so having sex with someone he genuinely cared for was a rarity. Having that sensation for the first time practically never happened, and the fact it had happened with Freed left him feeling warm inside; a feeling similar to that of when they had first kissed, only more intense.

Smiling, he slowly reached to Freed's face to move a stray hair, so the view was unimpeached.

Even putting aside the emotional aspects of the night before, it had been great. Being blunt, Freed was good in bed and knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps it was because he was still riding a high from the night before, but Laxus didn't think it was a stretch to say that Freed was the best lover he'd had. Laxus liked to think the same could be said of him, he classed himself as a pretty considerate lover and had tried to focus on giving Freed a good night as well.

Shifting a little, Laxus gently moved his hand to Freed's cheek. He slowly started to stroke it with his thumb, feeling the soft skin run against his slightly coarse hands. He noticed Freed's features scrunch a little, before retuning back to the peaceful expression.

Freed really didn't have the right to look so good. Laxus wasn't going to complain.

The blonde stayed like this for a little while, absently stroking the other man's face while his mind wandered. Freed would occasionally react while he slept, some of the expressions he unknowingly pulled causing Laxus to chuckle a little. The only sound in the room was the far-off rushing of the ocean, and the equally soft sound of Freed's breathing. Laxus found himself both relaxed and enamoured by the whole situation.

That in itself was kind of exciting for Laxus. He'd never liked staying in bed for too long – pretty much staying still in any situation other than driving made him antsy – but lying in bed with Freed seemed to change that. He was enjoying it, so much so he didn't notice he'd woken up nearly forty-five minutes ago.

He was in a little world of his own, and more than content with that. But he was pulled from that world when he saw Freed's expression changing again, though it was less subtle than it had been before. Laxus watched with slight curiosity as Freed's eyes clenched a little tighter, before they opened slowly. He seemed a little confused as he looked around but seemed to focus when he noticed Laxus opposite him. Laxus fought back a chuckle and sent him a soft smile, stroking his cheek a final time as Freed adjusted to being awake.

"Hey there," Laxus whispered, voice still hoarse from not speaking.

"Morning," Freed smiled a little, voice croakier that Laxus'.

The gambler moved a little and, much to Laxus' joy, shuffled closer towards him. The blonde moved his hand down again a little more, wrapping it around Freed's torso and leaving it on the small of his back. Freed didn't say anything but leant his forehead forward so it rested on Laxus' shoulder. That was enough for Laxus to know he hadn't overstepped the mark.

Lying in silence, the two got into the most comfortable position they could. Foreheads resting together, Laxus with his arm around Freed's waist and both men under the warmth of the covers. Laxus watched with enjoyment as Freed yawned, loudly at that, and the blonde couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Be quiet," Freed scolded, though was smiling and a laugh could be heard in his tone. "You're still waking up early, then?"

"Told you, hardwired into me whenever I'm on vacation," Laxus chuckled.

"You didn't need to stay with me if you didn't want to," Freed smiled a little. "I know you don't enjoy lying awake in bed, and it's not as if I thought you would have run out on me or something."

"You don't know, maybe that was my plan all along. Saw you at a bar, wanted to have sex with ya, and I've been playing you ever since," Laxus chuckled a little, sarcasm obvious. "But honestly, ain't that bad when you're with me."

Freed didn't reply but leant forward and pressed his lips against Laxus' for a short second. It sent a small chill down Laxus' spine as he copied his lover's actions, shuffling a little closer so that their chests were slightly touching. Despite what they'd done the night before, they still seemed a little hesitant about touching each other. Cautious was the better term; both wondering if it was okay to be as casually intimate as they had before. When neither did something to show the light touches were unwelcome, they relaxed a little in each other's arms.

"I told you I don't like stayin' in bed ages ago," Laxus commented after a minute's silence. "You remember that?"

"Well," Freed blushed a little. "I've got a good memory. And, well, you're an important part of my life, so it's natural I remember things about you. I'm sure there's things you remember about me that I wouldn't think twice about."

"Guess so," Laxus nodded. "Know you drunk scotch on the night we met. Know you ain't got a sweet tooth. Know you got your DJ friend coming to stay with you next week."

Freed chuckled a little and nodded. Bickslow's visit had slipped from his mind after all that had happened with Laxus, but it would be nice to see him again. Even if he would be totally intolerable if Freed let him know what had happened between him and Laxus. He wondered if Laxus would be happy with being open about their relationship, he wasn't exactly the shy type but Freed thought it unwise to assume.

Laxus watched Freed with a slight raised eyebrow. With how obvious it was that Freed was pretty deep in thought, Laxus guessed that Freed's long-perfected poker face didn't exist in the morning. Or maybe he just didn't feel the need to be defensive around Laxus now.

That was a nice thought.

"Think any harder and you're gonna start steaming out your ears," Laxus chuckled, Freed's eyes shooting towards him. "You okay?

"I'm fine," Freed smiled a little, expression relaxing a little as he brought a hand to Laxus' cheek. The blonde didn't believe his words, something evident in his expression. "I'll tell you after we wake up properly. I just want to enjoy this for now."

With a nod and a smile, Laxus tugged Freed a little closer. Their bodies now slightly intertwined, cold skin sliding against equally cold skin. But, despite the close contact, there was no sexual nature to their moods, they were both simply enjoying each other. Again, Laxus found himself focusing on the domesticity of the situation and found himself loving it. He'd always thought it was an exaggeration when people said they wanted to wake up next to someone every day of their lives – waking up was just waking up, after all – but now he was realising how wrong he was. Because waking up with Freed, hearing his voice croaky and seeing his face tired and relaxed was something almost magical.

The sound of the ocean was the only thing they could hear now, and the gentle rushing of moving water soothed them both in their moment of quiet. When some of his limp hair fell across Freed's face again, Laxus slowly moved it away before Freed could reach for it. As he tucked it behind Freed's ear, he smiled.

"You're fuckin' beautiful," He murmured, Freed smiled softly. "Don't tell you that enough."

"You've said it a few times," The gambler whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips against Laxus' in another chaste kiss.

"Like I said, not enough," Laxus grinned a little.

"You're beautiful as well."

Laxus smiled a little, blushing slightly at the praise. He closed his eyes and rested their foreheads together again, stealing a short kiss as he leant into his lover. Freed was a little shocked by the man's actions, but a second later he was slowly returning the lethargic, slow kiss that he had been gifted. He smiled when they pulled apart but looked at his lover with the smallest amount of confusion in his eyes. Laxus noticed this and smiled a little.

"Just, I think you're the only person to call me beautiful, that's all," He explained, flushed with a small amount of embarrassment.

"I don't believe that," Freed said quietly.

"Well, maybe I was when I was a kid, but I don't remember it," Laxus continued, looking away slightly. "I mean, I get compliments sometimes. But they're pretty much all… guess people don't think a guy like me wants to be called beautiful. Maybe they think I care more about being hot or handsome or whatever; like, they think I'll be pissed if I don't get a 'mans' compliment. That make sense?"

Freed didn't immediately say anything, but he did smile. "You're very much a man, Laxus. And a damn beautiful one at that."

Laxus smiled. There was something special about being called beautiful, or maybe it was because it was Freed who called him it. But it made him feel special in some way, like it was a compliment that actually meant something rather than being said out of obligation. There was a warmth to it, it was honest.

He'd never thought he'd be called beautiful. He didn't think he was beautiful. Not that he had any confidence issues – he could admit he was a good-looking man, just not beautiful. Beauty was all about elegance and perfection, something completely at odds to Laxus. Beautiful people were flawless, like Freed. Anyone could he hot, few could be beautiful. And of those few people, Laxus had never considered himself one of them.

After all, he wasn't perfect. His features were jagged, he couldn't help but feel like he stood out from the crowd for the worst reason, and he had a fucking scar running across his face. He wasn't flawless; therefore he wasn't beautiful. But Freed spoke with an honesty in his voice, as if he really couldn't see the flaws that Laxus could.

"And you chastise me for overthinking things," Freed chuckled, leaning up with a smile and kissing him.

"Yeah, sorry," Laxus blushed a little again. "Just, thanks for saying it."

"It's nothing," Freed smiled, stroking the cheek he still cupped in his hand. "We should get up soon, though. I've a feeling we both would be happy spending the day like this, but we've only got a few days left. Would you really want to spend the rest of it in bed?"

"With you, sure. You're pretty good company."

Freed chuckled, pressing his lips against Laxus' again for a final time before removing the blonde's arm from around his waist. He moved the covers slightly and sat up, leaning his back against the headboard and allowing another loud yawn to split apart his lips. Laxus chuckled again, sitting up beside him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

As the blonde left the bed entirely and slid his boxers on from the previous night – both his room and the bathroom would need him to pass a window naked otherwise, and neither man had closed any curtains the night before – he found himself enjoying the sight of Freed waking up. He'd always expected Freed to be able to wake up immediately after his eyes opened, but the gambler was one mopey comment away form being a teenager who refused to get up for school. It was pretty funny to watch him try and spend as much time as he could in bed, even if he was being subtle about it.

"You know, you're on vacation. You don't need to get up yet if you don't want to," Laxus chuckled.

"No, if I'm awake then I might as well shower now."

"You think that this is awake," Laxus chuckled as he motioned to the clearly half-asleep man, sitting on the side of the bed again. "Pretty sure you'd be asleep if you closed your eyes. No one's gonna judge you if you do."

"I'm honestly fine," Another large yawn erupted from the man's lips, betraying his point.

"Ya clearly wanna have at least a little more sleep, and with all the yawning you're doing I'm the same," Laxus smiled. "So why don't we just sleep for a little longer, like half an hour. Just enough that you ain't tired all day. Fair?"

"I suppose," Freed nodded a little. "But I'm honestly not that tired."

"Course not," Laxus grinned, not believing Freed for a second. "Want me to set an alarm."

After Freed nodded, Laxus grabbed his phone form the bedside table closest to where he had been sleeping. He made sure Freed couldn't see what he was doing as he quickly tapped away, before settling the phone back to where it was. He turned back to Freed and leant down, giving him a final chaste kiss before smiling.

"It'll go off at eight, so that's just over half an hour."

He smiled a little as Freed nodded. As he climbed back under the covers and wrapped an arm around Freed's waist again, he decided that he wasn't going to tell Freed that the alarm would actually go off at ten instead. If they woke up before that, he could just claim the alarm hadn't gone off. If they woke up to the alarm, he could just claim he'd pressed the wrong button on accident.

As he looked down to Freed's face, he could see his eyes were already closed and face peaceful again. After a moment of silence, Laxus realised that Freed was breathing in the same way he had when he was sleeping. The asshole had fallen asleep already!

"Not tired huh?" Laxus chuckled softly, before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him over as well.

As it turned out, Freed really was tired. Not only had he slept continuously after closing his eyes, Laxus watched as Freed slept through about a full minute of the alarm blaring into his ears. The blonde hadn't cut it off mainly for the amusement of seeing the 'not that tired' man sleep so heavily, but also because he couldn't entertain the idea of moving his arms, both of which had wrapped themselves around Freed.

But when Freed did awake, he was still under the impression he'd slept only for thirty minutes; Laxus enjoyed telling him otherwise. Thankfully, rather than being annoyed that it was past ten when he woke up, the gambler had blushed a little and admitted that 'perhaps he had been more tired than he thought.' Laxus gloatingly agreed, albeit subtly.

After showering, they'd both decided that there would be no point in doing anything in the morning, so had lounged around doing nothing more than talking. Freed had read some more of his book and Laxus mindlessly scrolled through websites on his iPad.

At noon, Freed had decided that he would make them both sandwiches for lunch. Laxus had nodded, expecting some chicken and salad or something. Watching as Freed cooked, Laxus wasn't sure what Freed was making for them, but the portion of fries already on the plate and the fact he had put the bread on the grill for some reason suggested that these weren't just the crappy sandwiches a kid would take to school.

"Show off," Laxus chuckled as he was given the practically gourmet sandwich and fries.

"If you'd rather, I can cook you some instant noodles or a microwave hamburger," Freed smiled, taking a seat on the other side of the breakfast bar with his own lunch.

"Well, I mean you went to the effort of making this. It'd be kinda rude not to at least eat some of it," Laxus chuckled, "Wanna soda or something?"

"Yes, thanks."

Laxus nodded and walked to the large fridge, picking out two cans of soda. He handed one to Freed as he sat down, picking up the sandwich and taking a large bite out of it. It was a BLT, only massively pretentious and delicious. He ate it without speaking, taking in the rather explosive favours that Freed had managed to make. He refused to believe that the gambler didn't have at least some training that was more advanced than reading cooking books.

Freed didn't say anything, but Laxus could see that he had a small smile on his face as he watched Laxus eat his lunch. The blonde would have made a comment to prove how much he enjoyed it, but he thought the fact that he didn't stop eating proved this without the need for words.

They continued eating in comfortable silence, and Laxus couldn't hold his tongue when he complimented him in somehow making salad actually taste good rather than just passable. Freed claimed he would give him his dressing recipe. Laxus nodded, and went about eating the remainder of his fries, which were perfectly seasoned and cooked, because of course they were.

"Laxus," Freed spoke up suddenly, voice a little more serious than before. Laxus frowned, looking forward. "I think that now would be a good time to talk. About the future, I mean."

"About us?" Laxus asked, placing the fry he was holding down.

"Yes," Freed nodded a little. "I understand that we planned to do this at the end of the week but, after what happened last night, I think it makes sense to do it now. We've seen most aspects of what a relationship with each other would be like, so if you're comfortable with it…"

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Laxus nodded, leaning forward a little. "Well, if you don't mind me starting, I think I… well. I really wanna try and do this – us – for real."

"You do?" Freed asked, and Laxus really hoped the twinge of a smile he saw wasn't just in his mind.

"Yeah, I think I do," Laxus crossed his arms, a little self-conscious. Dreyar's weren't the kind of guys to talk about their feelings. "I've never really been with someone long term before, and I think that's because I've never been with someone I wanna be with for a long time. But, all the stud we've done so far, it feels different to what I'm used to. Like, when we kiss, or talk or, y'know, do what we did last night. It just feels… addictive. I want more, I wanna wake up next to ya and kiss ya and make fun of ya when you're tired and have you do the same kinda shit back at me.

"And before you say it, I know it probably won't be this easy at home. We'll have stuff to get through and talk about, and that we won't spend all our time together like we have been. But, I think if something can be like this if we give it a little time, it'd be stupid not to at least try."

Laxus was looking down at his plate now, cheeks red. He had never really done the whole confession of love thing before and, although this wasn't the same and he didn't think he was in love with Freed, admitting that he could fall in love with him and some point and that he wanted the chance to fall for him, it was somewhat embarrassing.

Especially when considering the oversight he had made.

"And I am just now realising that you haven't actually said if you wanna keep going or not," Laxus continued, face redder now. "And if you don't, I just made a massive fucking idiot of myself."

The silence, although it only lasted a few seconds, seemed to drag out. Every second seemed to double up his worry and embarrassment, and he wouldn't dare look up to meet Freed's eyes. He was almost sure that he was going to be denied, until Freed's hands gently took his own and cupped them. Laxus let his eyes flicker up towards Freed, trying not to show the hope in them.

"I want to be with you as well," Freed said, and Laxus felt all uncertainty fade from his stomach. "And, you're right, it most likely won't be as easy as it has been this week. We will probably need to work things out to make sure our relationship and work wont effect each other, but, as you said, I think we could be good enough for the effort to be worth it."

Laxus was silent, before he smiled. The fact his feelings were somewhat reciprocated wasn't exactly new, but the fact Freed was willing to act on these feelings, and put effort into doing so, it erupted the electric fire in his stomach.

"You do?" Laxus asked, just to be sure.

"Yes," Freed smiled a little. "I-I would. I've… relationships have always been objective for me. I've been in some but, similar to you, I've never had a particularly successful one. I've been able to understand them, why people want someone to love them is pretty obvious, but I've never experienced it. Never had someone I wanted to experience it with. But, as you can probably guess, you're the exception to that.

"Sorry, sometimes I find it hard to be direct about emotions. A life of denying them does that to you, I suppose. Look, I like you. I like spending time with you. And, being blunt about it, I want to be in love with you and I think, given time, that could definitely happen."

The sound of a chair being pushed back cut through the silence. Laxus leant over the breakfast bar and cupped Freed's jaw with a hand. He leant forward and kissed him. It was slow and soft but filled with a passion that couldn't be denied. Freed soon joined in, standing up to lean further in as he pushed away their plates, leaning against the counter to deepen the kiss.

Although it only lasted for a few moments, the kiss seemed to go on for an eternity. But it was different to when Laxus had been waiting for Freed's response. Whereas Laxus was praying for the silence to end, he found himself hoping the kiss would last forever.

But it didn't. They pulled back for air and smiled at each other, both a little red and both panting a little. They didn't pull apart further than needed, so their foreheads practically rested against each other. Laxus placed his hand on the counter again, smiling a little as he recovered his breath and relaxed.

"So, guess we're together then?" Laxus laughed a little. This wasn't exactly the normal way people started a relationship.

"I suppose so," Freed nodded, apparently equally blindsided by the sudden relationship change. "Although, I should warn you. I'm somewhat a traditionalist."

"Okay." Laxus said with a small amount of hesitance.

"Yes. And because of that I must ask; when we get back home, would you like to go on a date with me, Mr Dreyar?"

Laxus paused a little at that, then grinned.

"Hell yeah I fucking would, Mr Justine."


	20. Chapter 20 - The Real World

**Hey all. Hoped you all enjoyed the last bonus chapter. Just a warning, I'm involved in a writing event thing that has some pretty strict deadlines. I think I've come up with a way to make sure i can keep up the bi-weekly updates of this while also writing for the event, but if an update is late over the next few months that'll be why. Anyway, get ready for Fraxus in Magnolia :)**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty – The Real World**

Laxus was happy. It felt unusual.

He had never been an unhappy person, at least form his perspective. Actually, considering his upbringing and the constant crap that the world seemed insistent on throwing in his direction, he had always thought he was pretty content with life. But being content didn't exactly mean he was happy. It just meant that he was… fine. But recently, that had changed.

It was no mystery as to what had caused this change. Only a week ago had he returned from his vacation with Freed, where two had made their relationship official. Laxus wasn't the type of guy to overexaggerate, but he honestly felt that his mood hadn't dropped since they had returned.

Even walking down the rain-soaked streets of Magnolia, he found a smile toying at his lips for no other reason than that he was happy. Nothing particularly uplifting had happened during the day – he hadn't even seen Freed since the evening before – but he found himself happy. The fact he was in a relationship, that someone wanted to commit to him in such an emotional way, the fact that there was someone who wanted to spend time with him without any obligation was thrilling. It was a thrill that Laxus loved feeling, and he wanted to keep it up for as long as possible.

Damn, so this was what it felt to be lovestruck. Not as bad as Laxus thought.

Keeping the smile off his lips, he pushed open the door to Mirajane's bar. As he neither needed to work nor could he see Freed throughout the day, he had decided to drop in and see his friends for the evening. He knew it was only so long that he could put off the conversation with Mirajane before she started making house visits. Laxus knew from experience that a locked door wouldn't stop her.

"Hey lover boy."

Laxus' head snapped up when he heard Cana's greeting form across the room. She was standing behind the bar, seemingly sober and wearing the uniform that Mirajane usually wore. Beside her was Elfman, wearing the male equivalent of the uniform and buffing a glass with a rag. This was weird, Elfman had left the bar years back for his job at the gym and Mirajane never let Cana behind the bar.

He walked to the bar, trying to ignore the flushing of his cheeks as he noticed a few glances at the name Cana had given him. It seemed the woman also knew about the vacation with Freed, and what had come of it. He took a seat, frowning at the two a little.

"Where's Mirajane?" He questioned, leaning his forearms on the cold wood.

"Night off," Elfman answered, placing the glass down and grabbing the bottle of scotch Laxus preferred.

"Some jackass supplier was trying to fuck around with her prices, she's been pretty stressed about it for a while," Cana continued, glancing towards Elfman as he prepared the drinks. "Took a while to convince her, but she's upstairs and let us take control for the night."

Laxus nodded but was still frowning. "And it takes both of you? You ain't exactly busy."

"I'm in training," Cana explained. "Got tired of sponging off my girlfriend so, until I find another job, I'm gonna work here. Still learning the ropes so I'm not allowed look after the place myself, so the big guy here is making sure I don't burn everything down or some crap," Cana then grinned and leant forward. "And Ever's back in town, and Elfy still doesn't have the balls to ask her out so he's hiding away in here."

"Hey!" Elfman protested, placing Laxus' regular drink in front of him.

"It's been years, man. You both want each other, just go for it," Laxus chuckled, before looking back to Cana. "When did she get back?"

"Couple days ago," Elfman muttered. Both Laxus and Cana looked towards him with raised eyebrows. "She texted me, it's not- shut up."

Laxus chuckled, making a note to catch up with his friend when given the chance. She had taken an apprenticeship in Crocus for a year, claiming that it would give her the work experience she needed and that it was a chance that she couldn't pass up. She and Laxus had kept up contact, but Ever's job got busy around the summer months and Laxus had to deal with his personal life, so contact had slipped away a little in the last few months. It would be nice to speak with her again, and she would probably have a pretty excited reaction to finding out Laxus was seeing someone.

The blonde felt his cheeks rise a little as he smiled. The very fact he had a boyfriend to speak of gave him a warm feeling that Laxus wondered how he lived without. The fact he was so willing to talk about his relationship – and how Freed was willing to do the same – only added to the warmth he was feeling.

He lifted the glass of scotch to his lips, using the drink to disguise his smile until he could get rid of it. When he caught Cana's eyes, her expression told him that she already knew what he was doing. He placed the glass down and met her gaze, knowing that she was just as 'curious' about his relationship with Freed as Mirajane was. Cana, however, lacked the subtlety of her girlfriend. This was made plain with her next words.

"So, the gambler not with you," She teased. "Kick you to the kerb already?"

"Funny," Laxus deadpanned, cupping his glass but not picking it up yet. "He's got a friend staying at his place for a week and I didn't wanna get in the way."

"A friend huh?" Cana leant forward a little, grinning. "Your guy's a catch, you not feeling a little jealous?"

"Course not," Laxus chuckled. "Because I ain't a six-year-old kid with commitment issues."

"Nah," Cana laughed. "You're a _twenty_ -six-year-old disaster with mommy _and_ daddy issues."

Laxus didn't say anything but chuckled and raised his glass in a mock toast. The blonde was in a pretty good mood and knew that, in Cana's humour, very little was off limit, so he wasn't offended by the joke made at his expense.

Just as Cana went to say something again, a woman walked to the bar a little further down from Laxus. The blonde could hear the woman giver her order – it was either her round from the busy table in the corner or she was incredibly thirsty – and both he and Cana frowned when Elfman said that Cana would make the drinks. Granted there was no cocktails or anything that would require more than pouring something into a glass, but it was obvious that Cana had yet to make an order with that many people. Her and Elfman quickly swapped places as Cana started to pull out the necessary glasses for the woman's order.

When Laxus glanced up and looked towards Elfman and saw a small smile, he understood why Elfman had given Cana the order. Everyone knew Cana was… intrusive with relationships, so the other man was saving Laxus from further ridiculous questioning, at least for the moment. The blonde was appreciative of it.

"Thanks," He nodded, raising the glass.

"Don't worry about it," Elfman replied, going back to cleaning glasses. "Seriously though, glad you got together. Freed's a good guy, more than man enough for you. Hope it goes well."

Laxus smiled a little. He had almost forgotten that Elfman and Freed were, or at least had been, friends of some kind. Hell, if Laxus hadn't second-guessed his decisions a couple of years ago, there was a chance that Elfman could have been the friend that got them together. It was a weird thought, that they could have been a couple for years if Laxus had plucked up the courage at the time, but it was quickly replaced by the warmth in his stomach as he thought about how glad he was that it had happened at all; because it really was good.

Sure, the way they had treated each other on the vacation hadn't carried over after they had returned. It wasn't as if the floodgates had opened and they could no longer keep their hands off each other or spend any time apart, but things certainly had changed between them. Even if it was only noticeable to someone who knew the men well.

The time they'd spent together out of work had increased considerable, and twice in the last week they had ended the evening at Freed's apartment after sharing a meal there. Both times, Laxus had returned to his own apartment and nothing close to sex had occurred – there was a shared sense of caution around that since they'd returned – but the time together was nice. And it certainly wasn't platonic.

They had changed in smaller ways too. Freed seemed a little less formal when he texted Laxus, even slipping with his grammar once or twice. Laxus found himself second-guessing himself less while talking, making conversation more free flowing. When Freed had needed Laxus to drive him to a client, Laxus had leant over and given Freed a chaste kiss before he left; after seeing Freed smiling as he walked to the client's building, Laxus decided that he would make a habit of doing that whenever he drove Freed anywhere.

So yeah, it wasn't exactly the same as it was on their vacation, but it was still great.

"Me too," Laxus nodded with a small smile.

Cana grinned when she returned, having given the woman a large trey of drinks which slightly lacked the finesse of Mirajane's and Elfman's. Her grin increased when she saw the look on Laxus' face before he could wipe it away. He was practically lovestruck.

Trying to ignore the teasing expression, Laxus finished his drink and placed the glass down on the bar-top. He had expected that he would be hit with a barrage of questions about his and Freed's relationship and, although he hadn't expected them to come from Cana, he was willing to answer them as long as they didn't get too invasive. He sighed a little but smiled, motioning to Cana to indicate that she could ask whatever she wanted. She didn't hesitate.

"So…" She leant forward again. "He your sugar daddy yet?"

Laxus' pupils dilated a little, and he could hear Elfman splutter to his left. So Cana really wasn't going to be candid or subtle about this. That's probably why Mirajane would be the better alternative for his questioning.

"No he fucking isn't," Laxus stared, expression slightly offended. "And he's not gonna be either."

"Oh yeah, course," Cana rolled her eyes, more teasing than sarcastic. "Totally unfair of me to think that, my deepest apologies. I mean, maybe it'd be true if you relied on him for all the money you get, and you also had sex with him, but that's not happening. Oh wait, hold on. That's exactly what's happening isn't it?"

Laxus deadpanned slightly as he watched Cana crack up at her own joke. The blonde's eyes flickered towards Elfman, hoping for a small amount of support from the other guy. When he was met with an expression of restrained amusement, Laxus found it hard not feel at least a little betrayed.

He also found it hard not to be tempted to point out that Cana had almost exactly the same arrangement that he did with her girlfriend; and that Elfman hadn't found the courage to ask out a woman who clearly liked him despite having his own personal mantra about being a man which he spoke about all the damn time. They were a pair of damn hypocrites; not to mention they had a weird brother-and-sister-in-law relationship that barely surfaced, but it was never great when it did.

"Look at him," Cana laughed. "The big man is pouting."

"Leave him alone," Elfman chuckled a little. "We're only teasing man, you're not that kind of guy.

"Yeah," Cana agreed. "Even if you tried it, you'd get bored after a week. You'd spend up all the free time in the gym, just for something to do. Defiantly not to make yourself look all pretty for Mr Rich and Handsome so he gets you something pretty to wear."

Laxus sent her a half-hearted glare and watched as Elfman elbowed her softly; maybe he wasn't such a traitor after all. The blonde did deserve it, probably, after he had been just as obnoxious towards Cana and Mirajane when he first found out about their relationship. There was no doubt in his mind that Cana wouldn't have been as insistent in teasing if Laxus hadn't done the same thing to her years before.

Deciding that Laxus had faced enough, Elfman instructed Cana to check out the woman's bathroom to see if it was still clean; apparently an incredibly drunk woman had been in there for a suspicious amount of time. Cana pouted and whined, claiming that 'she was training, and it was unfair to make her go on a vomit check.' Elfman shut her up by claiming that he owed her after all the times he'd mopped up her own vomit when he worked at the bar full time. She muttered as she left but did as she was told.

"Here," Elfman said, placing a glass of scotch before him. A different brand, a pretty expensive one too. "On the house. You're a pretty private guy, probably should have stopped her from the start."

"Nah, don't mind really," Laxus waved his hand slightly. "And you sure you're not just trying to bribe me so I don't do the same thing when you eventually get with Ever, 'cause you're gonna need a lot more than a drink to make that happen."

Elfman chuckled and went back to buffing some glasses. "I seriously am happy for you, man. You're good for each other."

"Glad you think so," Laxus smiled a little.

He went back to drinking his scotch, noting that it did taste a little richer that his normal brand; it wasn't that bad actually. He leant back and allowed a smile to form on his lips again, seeing no reason to hide it really. He was happy, he knew the reason for it and wasn't ashamed of it, so what would be the point of being candid.

Half way through his drink, he saw that the woman's bathroom door had opened, and Cana had walked out of it. Elfman looked towards her with a raised eyebrow – perhaps he really did think someone vomited in there rather than just using it as an excuse.

"It's clean," Cana said as she walked over to the bar. "I did smell something though. And that girl's table was close to the guys bathroom. Speak from experience when I say, you don't pay attention to bathroom signs when you've got yesterdays dinner in your throat."

Elfman deflated a little. "Aw crap."

As Elfman walked to the bathroom, taking a bucket with him that he kept from behind the bar, Cana took his place and leant on the bar again. Her grin had returned in full force and Laxus knew that, without Elfman there acting as a buffer for him, Cana truly would have no reason to hold back. The blonde sat up a little, both in preparation for whatever Cana had to say and to make a quick escape if he needed.

"So blondie," She practically sang. "How's your gambler in bed?"

* * *

"Well look at you, going up in the world."

Freed chuckled a little at Bickslow's exclamation. They both were standing in the elevator of Freed's apartment building, Bickslow seemingly in awe that Freed was living in an apartment that was located in the 'rich area of town' and had 'a goddamn doorman.' The gambler had forgotten that Bickslow had yet to see where his career had taken him.

He had picked up his friend from the airport over an hour ago, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that their friendship hadn't changed despite years of not seeing each other in person. The moment Bickslow had seen Freed waiting for him, he'd rushed towards the gambler and only gave him time to sigh slightly before hugging the life out of him. Freed honestly was shocked to find Bickslow releasing him before spinning him around in the air. Maybe he had grown up, if only a little. Freed didn't mind, Bickslow wasn't Bickslow without resembling an excited puppy at least somewhat.

The conversation in the car had, as Freed expected, been wildly one sided. Bickslow had spoken about how his music was getting more successful, how he was considering working with a famous cover artist and making an original song with her, and even how he was being considered to be the main musician for the new series of a Spanish crime drama. He then made Freed promise not to tell anyone, as apparently this was a big show in Spain and he had signed a non-disclosure-agreement.

The years defiantly hadn't changed him much. Freed would be disappointed if they had.

"Get it, 'cause we're going up in an elevator," Bickslow continued, grinning wide. Freed couldn't resit the small laugh. "Hah, made you laugh. You're weaker than you used to be."

"I suppose I am," Freed agreed, though completely disagreed with the statement; he could have held back a laugh if he wanted to. "I'm glad your career is going well for you, though."

"Yeah, its great!" Bickslow beamed as the elevator reached their floor. They slowly walked down the hallway and towards Freed's apartment door. "Hell, if I get that contract thing, maybe I'll move and get a place like this."

"Really?" Freed mused, unlocking his apartment and walking in.

"Aw, probably not. If I was loaded, I'd use it to buy fun crap. Not just a big room," Bickslow beamed as he looked around Freed's apartment. "But damn, this place makes a good case for the pros of getting a big room."

"I'm glad you like it," Freed chuckled.

After closing the door, Freed motioned for Bickslow to place his suitcase and duffle bag beside the sofa. He then walked into his kitchen and started to boil the kettle for some tea, also getting a can of grape soda for Bickslow and pouring it into a glass; out of all things, his friend was oddly particular with what he drinks and how he drinks it. He placed the glass of soda on the kitchen counter and leant against it, waiting for the water to boil.

Bickslow leapt up, having removed his coat and slung it over the sofa in a haphazard way. It reminded Freed of when they shared a room in the care home; the line between Freed's clean side of the room and Bickslow's messy side was almost comical. It was nice to have him back.

"So nerd," Bickslow grinned, picking up his soda and cupping it. "Let's cut the bullshit. Tall blonde and handsome, huh?"

"Laxus," Freed corrected. "And yes, we are together."

Bickslow noticed Freed smile a little and fought every urge in his body to slap the guy on the back in congratulations. He didn't, instead he would restrain himself, so the guy wouldn't get all self-contained on him about his new guy. Freed wasn't shy, her had far too big an ego for that, but he was a pretty private man and might get defensive. Bickslow knew exactly how to work around his friend and knew what buttons not to push. He also knew how to push these buttons and have fun while doing so.

"So, a little birdy told me, he has a jawline you could cut yourself on," Bickslow grinned, sipping his soda.

"You're still speaking with Loke, then," Freed laughed.

"A cute guy who keeps me informed about my best buddy and gives me blackmail material on him. You think I'm stupid enough to give that up," Bickslow grinned. "But don't tell him I told ya, he's meant to be my secret informer. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned the jaw thing really."

"His obsession with them is a giveaway," Freed smiled. "And odd."

"You should hear how he talks about yours," Bickslow grinned over the rim of his glass. "Really though, you and blondie good though?"

Freed smiled a little again and thought to his relationship. He had been concerned that, with how their relationship couldn't be the same as it had been on the vacation, that the change in how they acted wouldn't be something he would enjoy. After only a week being a couple back in Magnolia, Freed had realised that he had worried for nothing.

It was impossible to deny; Freed had really enjoyed the relationship so far. He got to spend more time with a man he cared for and enjoyed being around, and every aspect of their friendship now had a greater sense of intimacy and fun. It was better. It was fantastic.

As was the kiss they had shared days before.

"Definitely," Freed smiled as the kettle clicked off, and he started to make himself some tea. "Although, I could use your advice on something."

"Sure. If it's sex, tall guys like hair pulling," Bickslow grinned. "Most people don't reach up that high so it's sensitive; it'll drive him wild."

"That's not what I was asking, and I do not appreciate that insight into your sex life," Freed muttered a little as he poured the boiling water through the tea strainer. "And, what I actually needed help with was ideas for a date. I'm trying to plan one and every idea I've come up with doesn't feel as good as it could be."

"Just take him to some fancy place to dinner," Bickslow shrugged, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. "Flex your wallet, see if you can get him to flex his abs in return."

"I considered that; dinner, I mean," Freed sat on the other side of the breakfast bar, cupping his steaming tea with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I don't think he's the type of person to really enjoy being waited on hand and foot, and I don't want to seem like I'm trying to show off or make him feel inferior."

Bickslow nodded a little. He watched as Freed shuffled a little in his seat and gently sipped at his hot tea. Having known the guy for most of his life, it was cute to see him actually planning out dates and taking his boyfriends feelings into account while doing so. If he wasn't so proud and up-tight, he'd probably be outwardly panicking because of his issue. He chuckled a little at the thought of Freed completely breaking his poker face because of a date, before looking back to his friend.

"So nothing fancy," He nodded, thinking. "What does he like doing?"

"Driving, he seems quite enthusiastic about cars," Freed frowned a little, leaning forward and obviously thinking about Laxus' likes that could lead into date of some kind. "He seems to like scotch as well, perhaps something with that."

"Oh, maybe do like a vintage night!" Bickslow exclaimed. "Hire some vintage car thing, drive to some fancy bar or whatever and drink some old, fancy scotch. You can even dress up in like Victorian style clothes, bet he'd look hot in a monocle." Bickslow was beaming, only then seeing Freed frowning at him. "Took it a step too far, didn't I?"

"I don't think he's the dress up type," Freed smiled a little.

The idea wasn't all together bad though. Taking away the dressing up and the overall theme of it, hiring out a car for Laxus to enjoy would certainly be a good basis for a nice evening together; it wouldn't be difficult to get Mirajane to find out Laxus' favourite car model for him. It wasn't unheard of that whiskey distilleries would have some kind of tasting area, perhaps they could visit one of those as well as have a meal with each other. That… that actually sounded like a nice date.

It wasn't perfected, not by any stretch, but Freed certainly thought it was a good starting point. He smiled a little as he sipped his tea, deciding he would let the idea roam in the back of his mind so that an idea could evolve into something perfect.

"Aw, look at you. All love and romance in your eyes," Bickslow grinned. "You cutie."

"Be quiet," Freed smiled a little.

He supposed he was a little preoccupied with his relationship, but as it happened so rarely he thought it was justified. He would need to make sure he kept his focus at certain times though, as he had ended up losing a round of cards against a client a few days ago because his mind had wondered. In his defence though, that was only a moment after Laxus had kissed him in the car without warning, so he had an actual reason to being distracted rather than simply being a lovestruck idiot.

After all, that was essentially Laxus confirming that he didn't want to entirely separate their romantic relationship and their working relationship, a conflict that Freed had been thinking about since they'd gotten together. His smile widened a little more.

Bickslow simply chuckled and drained the rest of his soda, deciding that he wouldn't interrupt whatever cute crap was going on inside his friend's love filled mind. He walked around the breakfast counter and placed his glass into the sink, the sound of the glass clinking against the metal seemingly breaking Freed out of his love induced trance. Bickslow grinned and leant against the counter, finding it hard not to show how amused he was about the entire situation. He didn't have Freed's poker face, nor did he want one.

"Really didn't think you'd be so open about this," Bickslow grinned. "Thought I was gonna have to plough you with cheap tequila until you started crying about him."

"I don't know what kind of drunk you think I am, but it's certainly not that," Freed took a sip of his tea again.

"Still, you ain't being private. Must mean you really like the guy."

"I suppose I do," Freed nodded a little in thought. "He certainly makes me happy, and I certainly can't deny that spending time with him makes things that could be mundane considerably more enjoyable. And, in all honesty, he's exciting to me. He's not the kind of person who I've become accustomed to being around and that's something I really enjoy. He's fun."

"Good," Bickslow grinned, holding his tongue and not saying that if Freed was attracted to people who were different, Bickslow should be the hottest guy on the damn planet. "Can't wait to meet him, unless you're keeping him a secret."

"As long as you don't intend to do something stupid, like threatening him as if you were my father and I'm a sixteen-year-old girl, I'm sure that'll be fine," Freed nodded.

With that, the conversation about Laxus was over. Bickslow knew that the buttons he had pushed had been enough to satisfy his curiosity and not going so far that Freed would start to get all private on him. Besides, having Freed's permission to meet 'blondie with a jaw of steel' – it was a name he and Loke were testing out for Laxus, Bickslow thought it was a little wordy – was a bigger step than he thought he'd get in his week staying with Freed. Overall, the conversation was a victory.

"So," Bickslow spoke up again, suddenly reminded that the apartment was his home for the week. "Since you're a taken man, I'm guessing I'm gonna be on the sofa instead of cuddling with ya?"

"I'm afraid so," Freed nodded, standing up so they left his kitchenette. "It pulls out into a full bed, so don't worry about having to fold yourself up to fit. And, I've been told by a reliable source that it's rather comfortable."

"A reliable source huh," Bickslow grinned. He could push one more button. "Don't tell me you had blondie here and made him sleep on the sofa."

"It was before we got together."

"And you just wanted to give him a taste of what he could be having, huh. Cruel. Hot, but cruel," Bickslow cackled as Freed gave him an unimpressed expression. "Fine. I'm done. But you were the one who got with a guy the same month that you knew I was coming to visit, so you should have expected a little bit of teasing. So this is really on you."

When Freed didn't reply, Bickslow knew he had made a good point. He collapsed onto the sofa and kicked his feet onto the coffee table, placing his arms on the back of the furniture with a grin on his face. He watched as Freed sat on the adjacent sofa, picking up the remote for the TV and surfing through the channels. Bickslow kept an eye on the programs that were lifted and, after seeing a show where a bride and their bitchy mothers-in-law would go wedding dress shipping together had a marathon going on, he gave his friend his best puppy dog eyes. Freed turned the channel on, already reaching for a book on the coffee table.

They sat together for a short while, with Freed slowly turning a page of his obviously lengthy novel from time to time and Bickslow making comments both about the dresses he thought looked bad and the in-laws that needed to keep their noses out of the bride's business. More than once, an in-law agreed with something he had said about a dress and Bickslow would pout; Freed held his grin behind the paged of his book.

During the pricing of a bride's dream dress, which Freed had quickly learnt was the tensest moment in the show, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at the text he'd received, fighting back a small smile when he saw that it was from Laxus. The smile got a little larger when he read that Laxus had 'gotten the third degree from Cana and had to get out before things got really personal.' Even though he didn't know Cana all too closely, he knew what Laxus was alluding to.

Bickslow had also heard Freed's phone rumble in his pocket – the buzz had cut through the dramatic music dammit – and glanced over to his friend. His anger dissipated when he saw the small smile on Freed's face as he typed out a reply.

Maybe there was one more button to push.

"Daww," He found himself saying. "Look at you, if you were a little younger, I'd vote you into being prom king."

"Shut up." Freed muttered, not looking up from his phone.

Yeah, that was the last button he could push for the night.


	21. Chapter 21 - The New Norm

**Hello Everyone, and welcome to this milestone chapter! Not only is this the chapter that breaks the 100k word-count on all platforms, something which I didn't think I'd reach, but this fic also now has over 100 kudos on Ao3. Thank you all so much, and although this chapter might not be the biggest, I'm hoping that the next one will make up for it.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One – The New Norm**

There were many things that Laxus enjoyed. The feeling of a powerful engine roaring to life at his command; the small Chinese takeout place that resided a block away from his apartment and that made amazing food for pretty damn cheap prices; and the annoyingly satisfying sensation of crushing compacted snow under his boots as he walked from Magnolia in the winter. But one thing that he enjoyed was a habit that often went unsatisfied.

Listening to music. And listening to it loud.

His neighbours would not appreciate him blasting out classic rock at any time in the day, and the cable on his headphones had frayed them to the point of uselessness, so his music needs had gone ignored for months. That was, until now.

He sat alone in Freed's car, scrolling through his phone to pick the perfect track to play. He was in a parking structure, across the street from the apartment building of one of Freed's clients. The parking lot was almost entirely empty, and Laxus had parked far from the few cars that were already there, meaning that he had enough space to listen to music as loudly as he wanted for as long as Freed was gambling. This was an opportunity he had taken without hesitance, and the music had been blaring through the car's speakers the moment Freed had left his sight.

Tapping on a song he knew had a particularly strong bass line, he let his eyes close. He found himself lost in the music, feeling the vibrations reverberate through the car and into the hands that gripped the leather wheel, listening to the energetic beat as it slammed against his ears, and letting the strong vocals send the occasional shiver down his spine. Damn he'd missed this.

This was how most of the waiting went, Laxus focusing on the songs that he hadn't played for a long while rather than those that had entered his 'heavy rotation' playlist. His eyes remained closed almost always, and only opened when he went to choose another song, and he soon found himself in a world that only contained himself.

Until Freed returned.

Freed returning wasn't a bad thing, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the way he returned kind of was. Laxus was too engrossed in the music to notice Freed's approach, or the fact the gambler had heard the music half way across the parking lot. He was only alerted to Freed's presence when he felt the car dip slightly as Freed sat down. Laxus heart leapt into his throat as he slowly turned towards Freed, who wasn't trying to hide the slightly teasing smile painted across his face.

Immediately, he tried to think back to what Freed could have saw but came up with nothing. It could have been anything from him leaning back with his eyes closed, to belting out-of-tune lyrics at the top of his voice. He honestly didn't know, and Freed's smile didn't give him any answers.

"Shut up," He muttered after turning the volume down to a reasonable level.

"It was cute," Freed simply replied, still not giving Laxus any inclination as to what 'it' meant. He would rather not ask, that way he'd kid himself into thinking it wasn't anything too embarrassing.

With what could possibly be defined as a pout on his face, Laxus started the car's engine and slowly began driving to the bottom of the parking structure with slightly flushed cheeks. Freed didn't say anything more, which Laxus appreciated as he slid the small ticket into the machine as waited for the barriers to grant them their leave.

As he left the parking lot, the blonde's mind wandered. It was still barely more than a week since he and Freed had returned from their vacation, and Freed's houseguest had been there for two days. They were still new as a couple, but it was impossible to deny that they were making progress.

In the first few days of them being back from the vacation, Freed had shown a little hesitance around him, particularly with work. Laxus had tried to resolve that by kissing him as he left for his client, and by the looks of it, it had worked. Freed was teasing him again and acting more like he had when they were on vacation. It wasn't the same, but it was more than enough to prove that their relationship was worth it.

And Laxus noticed changes in himself. The pout was a good example, actually, as he would have removed it immediately if it had formed around someone he was less close to. But with Freed, he found the small amount of hesitance he showed in normal social situations wasn't so intrusive. He honestly thought he could be more of himself around Freed, which was why he found the confidence so say what he did.

"You know," He began, tone a little nervous. "You've never actually seen the inside of my apartment, have ya? Maybe you could come and have some coffee or something now, if you want?"

Laxus found himself blushing, which seemed redundant. This wasn't like he was inviting Freed over to have sex, and he doubted Freed thought that was what he wanted. Simply, his apartment was crappy and therefore he hardly had guests, meaning it had morphed into something private for only a few people to see. He imagined showing it to Freed was similar to what an artist showing someone their work for the first time.

"That'd be nice," Freed smiled, and Laxus released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Great."

With a small smile, Laxus quickly recalculated his route so that he would end up at his own apartment, and also began to think through the places he could park where the car would not be in danger. Not that his neighbours would steal it or anything, but he knew for a fact that someone across the street had scratched a Jaguar that had broken down and he didn't know if they would consider this car expensive enough to vandalise.

As they drove to Laxus' building, the blonde didn't realise that he had left his own music on rather than switching it to the playlist they normally listened to when driving. Freed had never said anything to Laxus about his choice in music, but Laxus had created a playlist of song's he knew Freed liked as well as some he thought the gambler would enjoy, and they'd stuck to that since Laxus gained control of the music, which happened pretty early in them knowing each other; the playlist was long enough for neither to complain about the songs being repeated too often. With an entirely new playlist that was tailored to Laxus' preferences only, the blonde couldn't help but glance to see Freed's reaction.

The gambler was looking out of the front windscreen, leaning against the armrest of the car. It was subtle, but his fingers were tapping along to the beat of the song's chorus. Laxus also noticed him smiling softly, and the blonde couldn't stop an equally small but happy smile from sneaking onto his own face.

Getting to Laxus' apartment didn't take too long, and the blonde decided to park the car in a nearby parking lot; it was lit up and had a security camera at the exit. They needed to walk for about five minutes to actually get to the apartment building, but Laxus would rather do that than risk the car getting scratched by some jealous neighbour. Besides, a walk together in the late evening would be nice to share with Freed.

"Do you honestly think someone would break in and steal it?" Freed chuckled at the end of thee question, raising the briefcase that he was referring to.

"You never know," Laxus muttered. "Someone might be in debt or behind their bills or whatever. Briefcase will five grand in it would be tempting."

"I don't exactly advertise it's content," Freed smiled a little. "And for full clarity, it's five and a half grand."

"Smug ass," Laxus muttered, though grinned.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Laxus found his mind occupied. He was standing to the left of Freed, who was holding his briefcase in his right hand. This meant that, if he wanted, he could have slipped his hand into Freed's without any real issue. However, he had to wonder if that was something Freed would like.

As much as Laxus knew that he enjoyed it when Freed had taken his hand and kissed it, he didn't know if Freed would like the favour returned. The debate went on in his mind as they walked, until he came to the conclusion that he couldn't be sure until he actually did something about it.

His actions were fast, and he slid his hand into Freed's and grasped it before Freed could notice his movements. He noticed that Freed paused for a small second, and he could just about see his pupils dilate a little, but he recovered almost immediately and continued walking, making no effort to remove his hand from Laxus'. It was such a small gesture, and arguably quite cliché, but the contact of Freed's cold skin against his own managed to send a rush of electric shivers throughout the blonde again.

Their hands remained connected for the rest of the walk, until Laxus was forced to break the contact to fish his key out of his jacket pocket to grant them access into the building. As they walked up the stairs and towards Laxus' apartment door, their hands didn't meet again.

That was fine, Laxus' hand was still fizzing from the contact.

"Just to give you a warning," Laxus said as he slid his key into the lock and held it there. "I know you ain't the kind of guy to get all judgemental and shit about this, but my place ain't glamourous. Like, at all."

"I really don't care," Freed assured him. "As long as the coffee you promised doesn't kill me, I'm sure I won't have any complaints."

"You drive a hard bargain, Justine," Laxus smirked a little, seeing Freed raise an eyebrow a little. "And hear I was planning to kill ya and take that money for myself. Can't now, or I'll have to deal with you complaining as ya haunt me."

"And your plan was so close to completion, too," Freed smiled, thankfully joining in on the joke. "A shame."

With a chuckle, Laxus pushed forward his door and opened it, allowing Freed into his apartment for the first time. He suddenly was reminded of the nervousness he felt, and his stomach began to churn a little as he looked around, trying to look for any imperfections that he had missed when he was cleaning earlier in the day; he'd prepared after deciding that this was the perfect time to invite Freed as he could use the excuse of Bickslow being at Freed's as a reason for his invitation if needed.

His apartment really wasn't good. Technically, it was open plan, but Laxus would describe it as being so small that they were forced to cram everything other than the bed and bathroom into one room. It had a tiny kitchenette, an equally small living room, the bathroom was as large as the average en-suit, and the bedroom was barely wide enough for a small double bed and beside table. If Laxus was forced to describe it, he would say it was functional enough but not pretty. It was a pretty stark contrast to Freed's apartment, that managed to be luxurious even if it wasn't the penthouse Laxus had first expected Freed to live in.

So when he looked at Freed, he was shocked to see that Freed didn't seem to notice. He simply shrugged off his coat and looked around, his expression not faltering. Laxus couldn't be sure if Freed was using his poker face to hide what he felt, or if he really didn't care, but the blonde didn't see the point in worrying about it.

"You can hang it up there, if you want," Laxus motioned to the coat hooks on the back of his door.

As Freed hung up his red coat, Laxus plugged in his coffee machine and got two mugs from his cupboard. Turning around, he motioned for Freed to take a seat in the small living room, hoping that the lack of comfort offered by his sofa wasn't too noticeable. As he expected, Freed didn't say anything if he did notice how uncomfortable it could be.

Slowly, the coffee machine was ready for use and Laxus quickly made them both their drinks, knowing Freed's preferences in how he took it already. As he brought the two steaming mugs and placed them on the tiny coffee table that rested in front of the sofa, he invited Freed to use the Netflix account he had connected to his TV; his grandfather had given him one of those USB things that turned his crappy TV into one that connected to the Wi-Fi. However, as he thought back to how he could use Netflix on his TV, he hissed a little.

His account wasn't actually his, it was his grandfather's. Although he knew it wasn't a big deal, showing his boyfriend that he was leeching of his grandfather's fucking Netflix wasn't portraying him well.

But again, Freed didn't react. He simply opened Laxus' profile and, after being told to put anything he wanted on, started to browse through the selection.

They eventually settled on a random documentary, something that they could invest themselves in enough so that they were entertained but wasn't too dominating that either would feel they were missing something if they got too lost in conversation together. The perfect thing to watch, in Laxus' opinion.

"You haven't eaten tonight, have you?" Laxus asked as he sat beside Freed, half tempted to slide his arm over the back of the sofa.

"No, not yet."

"Want me to order something in," He offered, placing his boots on the coffee table. "My treat?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Freed smiled a little. "I don't particularly mind what we have, so you can choose whatever you want."

Laxus nodded and smiled a little also. This was another thing that Freed did that Laxus was appreciative of; despite Freed knowing that Laxus had less money than him, he would never question Laxus or push him when he'd made it clear he wanted to pay for something. It was a small thing, and perhaps it was petty, but Laxus' pride enjoyed the fact that Freed was never patronising with the money that he had over him.

He started to think through what food they could get, eyes lingering on the TV but not focusing on it. His first thought was the Chinese takeout, but then he remembered the reason for its low prices was its less than admirable hygiene rating. Laxus had never had reason to complain, but his luck would dictate that this would be the day that an issue arose.

"Turkish food okay?" He eventually asked, fishing out a menu that had been delivered through his letterbox a few months ago that he'd used once or twice.

"Sounds nice," Freed nodded a little, turning away from the TV when he was offered the menu. He started to scan down the options, though glanced to his right when he could see Laxus looking at him with an expression that was perhaps concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Laxus said immediately. "Just wanted to make sure you ain't agreeing just out of politeness or obligation or whatever?"

"I like Turkish food, don't worry," Freed chuckle. "Honestly, the only food I would have denied completely would be sushi. I don't have the best history with that, or fish in general really."

Frowning a little, Laxus shifted his position so he was looking towards Freed to show the expression of intrigue on his face. Fair enough, people didn't like certain foods – Laxus himself had a weird and inexplicable dislike for grapes, for example – but phrasing this dislike as Freed had suggested that there was a story to his opinion. Laxus wanted to know what this story was, and hoped his expression was enough of a request.

"For my fifteenth birthday, some of the younger members of the house pitched in to get me some sushi after I'd mentioned wanting to try it," Freed began, Laxus shifting in his seat again. He had a feeling this was a story he'd enjoy. "The only thing they could afford was from a gas-station, so you can probably guess the quality."

"Shit?" Laxus offered, Freed chuckled.

"Yes. And, as they didn't know what kind I would like, they'd gotten almost every type they had," Freed chuckled a little. "I didn't want to let them down, they were young and being thoughtful, so I ate almost all of it. The after effects were… unpleasant, and I haven't enjoyed fish since."

Laxus chuckled, imaging a teenage Freed forcing himself to eat old fish to appease some kids and spending the latter part of his birthday hugging a toilet as he tried to stop himself from puking. With the image giving him enough amusement, he picked up his phone and dialled the number for the Turkish takeout, taking the menu after seeing Freed point out what he wanted from it as the phone began to ring in his ear.

After a quick conversation in which he relayed their orders – two doner kebabs, a large portion of fires between them, and a small garlic bread for them both – he ended the call and placed his phone on the kitchen counter.

"Before I forget," Freed began once Laxus had hung up. "I've come up with an idea for our date."

"Really?" Laxus asked, sitting back on the sofa. This time, he didn't think as he placed his arm over the back of the sofa, almost wrapping his arm around Freed's shoulders.

"You're free on Thursday evening, aren't you?" He asked, Laxus nodding. He only worked out in the middle of the day now, and it wasn't as if his work would ever stop himself from going on a date with Freed. "Would you prefer to know what it is now, or leave it as a surprise?"

"Er, surprise me?" Laxus shrugged a little. "But, maybe warn me if I need to wear a suit or something."

"That won't be needed," Freed assured him. "It's quite casual."

With a nod, Laxus shifted a little so that he was facing the TV again. The documentary maker was doing an interview with someone – Laxus had paid so little attention so far that he didn't know what the show was about, the interview would be anything from being with a witness to a murder to someone who knew about the pigments of colour – and Laxus thought that he had nothing better to do while they waited for their food to arrive.

As he slumped down a little, he noticed something. With the size of his sofa, he and Freed were close and he could smell whatever cologne that Freed was wearing. He couldn't describe what the smell was, but it was pleasant. Laxus couldn't help himself from shuffling again, this time slightly leaning against Freed's side.

The gambler glanced towards him and relaxed against the touch. His arm slowly moved so that his hand was resting against Laxus' leg, simply as a silent act of intimacy. The blonde smiled a little, taking the hand and slowly shifting his position again, smile turning to a grin.

He slowly brought his hand towards Freed's jaw, and pushed himself upwards so that he was getting closer. Freed joined him half way, and their lips slowly joined in their second kiss of the day. Despite thinking he should have started to get used to the feeling now, he still felt electricity flow through him as they kissed, a sensation that was fantastic and something he wanted to feel more than he felt he had the right.

Fuck, Freed really did something to him he couldn't explain.

He tilted his head, kissing Freed a little harder and pushing himself forward. He took Freed's lip between his teeth, biting it for a split second just enough to split the mans mouth open enough to further advance the kiss. He could feel Freed chuckle a little, but it was soon swallowed up by the kiss they shared.

The kiss continued like this for some time, with occasional breaks for breath. Slowly, Laxus placed his hands-on Freed's torso, starting off cautiously but becoming more adventurous as Freed started to kiss him a little harder.

He could feel the strong expanse of muscle that his boyfriend had trained for, with only a crisp white shirt blocking him form the slightly pale skin below. Laxus shifted so he was sitting up fully, and he could absently feel that Freed's hand had slid into his hair and had slowly started tugging at it. That small gesture was all Laxus needed to wrap an arm around Freed's waist to pull him closer, and to slide his hand between the buttons of Freed's shirt. He pulled back and glanced towards Freed, who grinned a little.

And then there was a fucking knock at the door.

It took few moments for them to register what the sound meant, and they slowly separated when they did. Removing his hand from the inside of Freed's shirt was a somewhat sobering experience, but it was made a little better when he heard Freed chuckle a little as he adjusted Laxus' now messed up hair.

"Of all times for food to actually come early," Freed smiled, face a little red but not through embarrassment.

"They're usually fucking half an hour late," Laxus said, fully willing to admit he was pouting now.

"Well, it could have been worse," Freed chuckled, readjusting his own shirt that Laxus had ruffled. "Given the direction the night was going, we could have been interrupted in a much worse moment."

Laxus had to laugh at that – partly because it was true, and partly because of the stupidity of the situation – as he stood up. He picked up his wallet form the kitchen counter, checked out that it wasn't completely obvious what they had been doing in the mirror, and opened the door. He payed for the food and took it from the guy quickly, not sure is his expression was portraying the slight amount of embarrassment he was feeling.

He walked back to the counter and started to plate the food, Freed joining him. He couldn't find it in himself to actually feel annoyed at the situation; a testament to how much he enjoyed spending time with Freed, no doubt. The reason might also be because he was hungry, but it was mainly Freed.

So this wasn't the moment they got physical again. That was fine. Their relationship was only just beginning and there certainly wasn't any rush, not if they remained a couple for as long as Laxus wanted. There would almost definitely be other situations where they could take the next step, but right now he had his boyfriend in his apartment and delightfully unhealthy food teasing his senses as he unpacked it. It might not be sex, but Laxus would be a liar if he didn't admit to having a burning rush of excitement coursing through him at the combination.

Besides, any lingering disappointment went away when Freed eventually left for the night, offering Laxus the chance to walk him to his car and hold his hand while doing so.

Yeah, there was no rush at all.


	22. Chapter 22 - The Games of Fate

**Hey Everyone. I didn't think that we'd get this chapter out on time, but here we are. And we're getting close to the end of the fanfic now, it's sad. But there's still a little way to go and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two – The Games of Fate**

Laxus Dreyar was not a teenage girl.

It seemed ridiculous that this needed to be reaffirmed – he was a six foot three, pseudo bodybuilder and almost as far from a teenage girl someone could get – but as he sat on his sofa with a shaking left leg and a fluttering in his stomach, he felt he needed to be reminded of the fact. He was not a cliché teenage girl who had little control over her emotions, nor was he waiting for the quarter back to pick him up and take him to their school's prom. He was, however, waiting for Freed to pick him up for their first official date.

It was ridiculous, really. He'd seen Freed many times, they'd been to a pretty romantic party together, went on vacation together, and had been a couple for a few weeks. But here he was, waiting for Freed with a nervous excitement that seemed to plague him whenever Freed and him were taking a step in their relationship.

And, despite meeting multiple times before, this was their first official date. A big step, in Laxus' opinion.

Bored of allowing his foot to bounce against his carpet, he stood up and walked to the wall mounted mirror and checked his outfit again. After being told that casual clothing would be appropriate for their date, he'd decided to wear a simple purple shirt that was tucked into a pair of black jeans. He had planned to wear a jacket as well, but after seeing the rain cutting apart the afternoon sky, he decided to swap it out for his fur lined coat.

He hoped that the rain wouldn't ruin whatever date Freed had planned. Laxus had no idea what it was but had been assured by Mirajane – Freed had apparently gone to her for some advice – that he would like it. Hopefully, the pretty heavy rain wouldn't ruin it.

As he fiddled with his hair, having styled it in the slicked back way that he was starting to favour, he heard a sharp knocking at the door. His eyes widened a little, though he didn't know why as Freed had texted him minute ago to say that he was approaching, and he glanced towards the source of the sound. He quickly switched off the TV and walked to the door. After opening it, he had to remind himself again that he wasn't a teenage girl, because his breath practically hitched.

God Freed was handsome. He was wearing a long red coat that was slightly damp near the bottom, holding a black umbrella by his side, and his hair was styled in a low pony tail. He looked damn handsome, and Laxus felt the urge to kiss him.

Thankfully, Freed must have had the same urge.

He leant up and placed his hand on the back to Laxus' neck, pulling him down a little so that their lips connected. It was a small moment, only lasting a few seconds, but it left Laxus with a slightly dopey smile on his face as they pulled back. He didn't care, it wasn't as if he needed to hide the fact that he liked Freed. In many ways, it was Freed's fault.

"Hey," Freed smiled a little. "It's nice to see you. You look good."

"Thanks," Laxus grinned a little, looking down at himself as if he hadn't been making sure his outfit was blemish free for the last hour. "You too."

It was true. Obviously, he had kept himself dry using the umbrella, and his face was the very definition of handsome. With sharp and demanding features that were complimented with soft skin, Freed had the looks of a model. Laxus counted himself incredibly lucky that Freed had decided that he would be the one who would get the gambler's attention, and it was luck that he wasn't going to waste.

"The rain didn't cause too much trouble then," Laxus continued. "It ain't messed up your plans has it, because I don't mind waiting a couple of days if you want."

"No, don't worry," Freed smiled. "In fact, the rain could have made it better."

Laxus felt the urge to frown, not being able to think of a way that rain could improve a date. He loved the rain – a heavy thunderstorm was the ideal weather for him – but even he would admit that it wasn't the most practical for a date. Still, he trusted Freed wouldn't lie to him, so he wouldn't question him.

"Are you ready to go?" Freed asked, Laxus nodding in reply. "The car's in the parking lot down the street, are you okay with walking or would you rather I pick you up?"

"A walk sounds nice," Laxus grinned again, picking up his coat.

They both left the apartment, Laxus locking it behind him, and walked to the exit of the building. The sky was overcast and rain beating down against the pathways, but it was relatively bright and not quite as gloomy as Laxus had expected.

As they left, he saw Freed go to open the umbrella. He wordlessly took it in his own hand, and saw that Freed was looking at him with a small frown. Laxus didn't say anything as he opened the umbrella and held it up, so they could both take shelter under it; Freed was treating him to whatever date he had planned, holding an umbrella for his boyfriend was literally the least he could do. Freed must have understood this, as he didn't say anything and simply started to walk beside him.

Laxus couldn't help the smile on his face. The tapping of rain against the umbrella, the silent company of his partner and the promise of an afternoon he would enjoy all melded together to make him feel a sense of joy that he found hard to deny. So he wouldn't try, he would just enjoy it when it was still there.

"So, when are you gonna tell me what we're gonna do?" Laxus asked.

"You'll see quite soon," Freed promised, and Laxus believed him. "You know, I quite like the rain. Perhaps it sounds cliché, but I do think it adds a calming atmosphere to things. More natural."

"I get that," Laxus nodded. "Pretty fond of thunder and lighting myself. But that's kind of the opposite of calm."

"Yes, but it's still natural. Quite beautiful too," Freed continued, glancing towards the sky. "I remember seeing a quite intense lightning storm once. I was on a cruise, when I first started making large amounts of money and was quite happy to flaunt it-"

"When you were a rich brat?" Laxus corrected with a teasing tone before he could stop himself.

"I prefer to call it extravagance, but yes," Freed chuckled. "But it was just beautiful. It was late in the night; the main deck was almost entirely clear, and the lightning was just spectacular. I suppose it was the lack of light pollution, but it just seemed to have such a presence that it dominated the skyline. I must have spent at least an hour watching it."

The blonde looked towards his partner with a soft smile. Just like the rain, Laxus loved lightning. He had never voiced this to Freed, but to see that his love for the weather was shared, it only added to the idea that fate had brought them together.

"Have heard lightning looks best on the ocean," Laxus said, near wistful. "Maybe we can see it together some time."

"Maybe we can," Freed agreed.

The rest of the walk towards the parking lot was taken in silence, but neither minded. Laxus had realised early that their relationship would be silent at times, and he didn't mind. Freed's presence was loud enough without any need for words, so he found comfort in silence when Freed was around.

When they reached the parking lot, Laxus frowned a little. He scanned the relatively empty place and saw that Freed's car was not in sight, and suddenly a sense of dread filled him. He had considered the possibility of Freed's car being damaged or stolen a few times, but never actually thought that it would happen. He looked to Freed, panic turning to confusion when he saw a slightly amused smile on the gambler's face.

"You really should trust your neighbours more," Freed chuckled.

Still confused, Laxus watched as Freed pulled out a set of car keys – not the ones Laxus had a copy of – and pushed a button on them. Headlights lit up across the parking lot, and they belonged to a car that Laxus didn't recognise as Freed's. But, as he looked at the car, his pupils dilated a little.

It was a Defender. An older model of the car that practically screamed all terrain. While Freed's luxurious car was amazing – and he sometimes had to pinch himself when he remembered he could drive it regularly – this model of car was borderline iconic. It was large, strong, and something that Laxus had always wanted to drive. And, not only was it mere meters away, but the keys had just been given to him.

"You're kidding?" He asked, looking at the keys.

"We get it for the day," Freed explained. "Mirajane said that you liked it, so I thought you could drive it for the night. Have a break from what you normally drive." He chuckled a little at the latter sentence.

Laxus still looked towards the car, not quite believing that he would be able to drive it. He had expected that he would be going to dinner somewhere, something which he would have been more than happy with as Freed's company was more than he could ask for. But the fact he was going to drive a car he had all but lusted after as a teenager, even if it was just for a little while, was something that filled the blonde with excitement. If even the drive to wherever they were going to was tailored to his needs, he had pretty damn high hopes for the rest of the night.

Again, Freed chuckled beside him and started to walk towards the car. Laxus kept up the pace, partly because he wanted to keep his partner out of the rain and partly because he wanted to get into the car as soon as he could.

Once in the car, Laxus saw that it blended the classic stylings with more modern aspects that he'd gotten used to. The upholstery was black leather, the analog clock had been replaced with a modern information centre, and the cool steering wheel felt fantastic under Laxus' touch. After turning on the engine, he gave the accelerator a tentative push and got a loud rev in return. He couldn't stop the grin from forming; every aspect of the car was a little rough around the edges, and Laxus loved it.

"You gonna tell me where we're going now, or just give me directions?" Laxus asked as he started to leave the parking lot.

"I'll direct you," Freed said from the passenger's seat. "It's a little way away, so I doubt you'll know it."

Laxus nodded and, per Freed's instructions, turned left as he exited the parking lot. He wasn't going to complain about the date taking place a little while away, that just gave him more time to enjoy the car. He absently wondered if Freed had taken his excitement for driving a car like this into account, and purposefully chosen a date that took place a while away with that in mind.

The drive consisted mainly of idle chatter, which was occasionally broken when Freed gave Laxus instructions as to where they were going. More than once, Laxus found himself zoning out as he enjoyed the feeling of cool leather sliding across his hands as he turned the wheel. Embarrassingly, one instance of him zoning out lead him to miss the instruction to turn left. Freed had teased him a little as he was forced to turn in the middle of the road, but had assured Laxus that he needn't worry about it and that their date wasn't on a strict timetable.

After about thirty-five minutes of driving, Freed told him to take a final left. Laxus frowned as he was confronted with a metal gate, with a large field behind it. He looked towards Freed, who smiled a little and opened his door. Laxus did the same, handing the umbrella to Freed as he left.

"When I was in the children's home, we didn't have a lot of money for birthday parties," Freed began. "But they tried. One of the carers had a car like this, with enough seats for five or six of us. So when our birthdays came about, he would take a few of us to a field like this or a forest and drive us around; he called it off roading. I remember it being quite fun."

Laxus listened to Freed, heart beating a little faster. He watched as Freed unlocked the gate and opened it, revealing how bumpy and tire worn the field was. He grinned a little.

"I know it's a little unconventional, but I enjoyed it, and after Mirajane told me this is your preferred kind of car, I thought you might enjoy putting it to good use," Freed smiled as he latched the gate onto the fence. "We have the entirety of the field, and the forest to the end is ours as well. There's also a stream somewhere, and I've been assured that the car can more than handle it without any risk of us getting-"

He couldn't help it. Laxus lurched forward, wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and kissed him.

It was overwhelming. Not only had Freed planned a perfect date for him, but had also done so in a way that wasn't patronising. He could have easily taken him to some fancy restaurant or made an evening with the only intention of showing off how much money he had. But he hadn't, he'd made something fun for them both that took Laxus' interests into account. The effort was still abnormal to Laxus, and he didn't know if he could get used to it. But having someone treat him like Freed did – as if his attention was just on Laxus – it made the blonde warm inside.

As they kissed, Freed lowered the umbrella so he could run his hands through Laxus' hair. The blonde recognised the feeling of rain against his back but didn't pay any mind to it. He was too focused on the electricity running through him.

"Sorry," He whispered after they pulled apart. "Made you drop your umbrella."

"I think I'll live," Freed chuckled. "I did say I like the rain."

"Guess you did," Laxus grinned. He stared at Freed for a short while, eyes almost loving. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I'm not sure I would consider this amazing," Freed chuckled, voice more amused than it was self-loathing.

"You seriously are. I mean, the amount of thought you put into this, it really is a lot more than I'm used to," Laxus smiled, cupping Freed's cheek and looking at him tenderly. "You know, sometimes I think you're too good for me."

"Don't say that," Freed smiled. "It's odd seeing you being modest."

"You'd rather me be an arrogant asshole?" Laxus grinned, and Freed only chuckled in reply. "Fine, then you ain't too good for me. You should be worshipping my every move, kiss my boots whenever you see me and thank me for the honour."

Again, Freed chuckled at him and it sent a small chill down Laxus' spine. He should have probably gotten used to the sound, but being the person who caused the soft reaction made Laxus feel a sense of warmth that he had started to associate with Freed. It was similar to the electricity that Freed could cause, but a little different. Great non the less, though.

"That's a little better," Freed grinned. "Though I should say, if you ever say that in any seriousness, I will neuter you in your sleep."

Why did Laxus find that kind of hot? He shouldn't find it hot.

"Anyway, I imagine that you want to start driving as soon as you can," Freed continued, pulling away softly. Laxus tried not to show how the lack of contact disappointed him. "And, if you get hungry later, there's a pub nearby that does good food."

Laxus nodded, and a moment later they were both back in the car. Although the lack of closeness with his partner did leave a small amount of disappointment, it was quickly replaced with the sound of a purring engine and the feeling of the car as it drove across the rain soaked field. The suspension of the car was perfect, allowing them to feel the bumps in the ground without it being uncomfortable. It promised that the rest of the experience was going to be a good one.

As he drove, Laxus tried not to think about how, a moment earlier, he had considered saying something he had never said before…

 _I love you._

* * *

"Do we need to clean it before we bring it back?"

Laxus looked towards the car he was talking about as he spoke. The vehicle was incredibly dirty, with the layers of dried water ending just below the door handles and dark blue sides looking more brown than anything else. It was certainly a mess, a fitting tribute to the two hours of driving through mud that it had gone through.

They had parked at the furthest end of the pub's parking lot, and walked across the wet concrete side by side. The rain had given up and clouds had parted to reveal the sun, a sight that Laxus was glad of. Just like he did in the rain, Freed looked damn handsome in the sun.

"I don't think so," Freed said as he walked. "They hire the car specifically for this, so it makes sense they'd be able to wash it themselves."

Laxus nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to go to the valeting place he went whenever Freed's car needed to be washed: Crystal Motors. It was run by two guys and a woman with blue hair, and he couldn't bear to listen to their bullshit love triangle more than he absolutely had to, even if he couldn't deny the results they did with the car.

They walked into the pub and sat themselves at a table, taking out the menus and scanning them. Laxus found himself hungrier than he cared to admit – he hadn't eaten much for lunch our of fear of ruining his clothes somehow. The copious amounts of food offered to them all but made his stomach grumble, but he was glad he manged to stop it. After missing the turning earlier, he had decided that he had blushed enough for the day.

After deciding what he wanted – a steak sub with cheese sauce and a side of fries – he placed the menu down. Freed had also chosen, it seemed, as he had also returned his menu to where it had been when they got to the table.

"D'you mind if I get this," Laxus spoke before Freed could. "Like, I know this is your date and everything, but I wanna treat you too. Since you put so much effort into the date, it seems the least I could do."

"Are you sure?" Freed asked. "You're not just doing it out of obligation?"

"Sure." Laxus affirmed.

"Then of course," Freed smiled.

After getting Freed's order – a gammon steak with egg and fries – Laxus walked to the bar and placed their order. He made sure to get them a shared nacho plate for a starter, he had seen both nachos and dips in Freed's cupboards once when he had made them drinks in his apartment, and returned to the table after paying for their meals.

As he returned, he found himself unable to stop smiling. Seeing Freed sitting at the oak table, unaware that Laxus was looking at him, the blonde found himself content. He was happy in his relationship with Freed, happier than he thought he could be with someone else. But that brought up the revelation from earlier in the day. The revelation that he had almost voiced, but he had only just stopped himself from actually saying.

He was in love with Freed.

It was too soon, he knew that. It didn't make it any less true though. The feeling he had around Freed could only be love, it was the only thing that made sense. Things seemed to be better when he was around Freed, and he never found himself sick with the man's company. And, of course there was the ever-present warm electricity when Freed was nearby. There was nothing else it could be other than love.

But the revelation itself wasn't an issue. He wasn't going to start denying it, what would the point of that be? But he needed to be sure if it was the right time to actually admit it. This was technically their first date, but their relationship wasn't conventional. For god's sake, they'd gone on a romantic vacation together as a result of a single kiss. A confession of love early in their shared romance paled in comparison compared to that. In fact, in terms of romantic normality, it might be the most conventional thing they had done.

The debate had come and gone by the time he reached the table and sat down. Looking towards Freed, he didn't see the point in worrying. He'd learnt pretty quickly that, with his romantic life, he was more of a passenger, with fate being the driver. And he was going to enjoy the damn ride.

"You look a little lost in thought," Freed commented. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Laxus smiled, "You really are amazing."

Freed frowned a little. Again, not because he was denying the compliment, more because he didn't understand where the compliment had come from; his ability to assess what a person was feeling could only go so far.

"Sorry, it's just, ya really are," Laxus continued. "Not to sound all self-loathing and crap, because it pisses me off when people act like they're the only person with issues, but I sometimes felt like I was just alive for my parents. Like, it was my only role in life to be their kid, and I was doing a pretty shitty job at it with how they treated me.

"So it's just, I dunno, nice. I feel like I'm a priority to you and I never thought I would be. So, er, thanks for making me feel like that," Laxus chuckled, before rubbing a hand over his face. "Sorry, kinda broke the mood there. Didn't mean to."

"Don't apologise for that," Freed smiled. "And, for what it's worth, you've improved my life too. I was never intending to be in a relationship – my life wasn't exactly normal, so why would I bring someone else into that? But having someone, as you stated, who treats me like a priority, is something I don't wish to lose. And, its honestly nice having one aspect of my life being normal, even if we do tend to do it in the most abnormal way possible."

Laxus chuckled, but knew he was blushing. He was half worried that, while he was considering confessing his love to Freed, his partner would still consider them to just be dating. Freed's words went a long way to shutting those worries behind him.

Perhaps Freed might even feel the same way about him.

He quickly dismissed that thought before he could actually entertain it. Even if it was true, there was no point in getting his hopes up or getting nervous about it. He would simply cross the bridge of Freed's possible love when he actually came to it. For now, he was just going to enjoy the time with Freed while it was happening.

"You sweet talker," He chuckled, Freed smiling at him.

The two continued to talk as they ate, and Laxus relished in the sight of Freed's restrained but noticeable smile as their shared starter was given to them by the waiter. Maybe it wasn't with the same amount of extravagance that Freed could give him, but Laxus enjoyed the fact he could treat Freed to the things he wanted.

It seemed as though the evening flew past them, as the meals came quickly and were consumed in the same way. The conversation never once dipped as they ate their food, which was as delicious as Laxus had expected. And the blonde couldn't stop himself from smiling throughout.

They decided to forgo a desert – if they changed their mind, Laxus knew of an amazing patisserie which they could visit – and finished their drinks not long after their food. After leaving a tip on the table for their server, they walked to the entrance to see that it had started to rain again, just as heavily as it had before. Laxus chuckled a little, having been the one who suggested that they leave the umbrella in the car.

"Well, like you said, the rain did hold off," Freed teased sarcastically, to which Laxus grinned.

"What can I say? Guess I just know the weather," He smirked. "Call me the thunder god."

"Not the rain god?"

"Nah, rain god's probably some moody teenager whining about how their parents don't understand them," Laxus laughed a little at his own joke. "The thunder god, though... Well, look at me. You can't say it doesn't suit me."

"Your hair does look a little like it's been hit by lightning," Freed smirked.

After a single laugh, they both fell into silence. The rain beat down against the plastic cover they were under, and Laxus found himself entranced by the man before him. The feeling of electricity flowing through him appeared again, as did the warmth in his stomach that filled him with comfort. Staring at his partner, everything seemed perfect, and Laxus felt it impossible to deny what he felt for the man. It was just fact.

Maybe now was the time. He felt it with such certainty, he wanted to say it now and thought to hell with the consequences. If their relationship was meant to last, and Laxus really thought it was, then who cared if he said it now. Why the hell shouldn't he?

He took a silent breath, bracing himself and willing the words to leave him. With closed eyes, he bit the bullet.

And then his phone rang.

Body almost visibly deflating, Laxus considered the possibility that maybe this was fate's way of telling him now wasn't the time. Or maybe this was just fate's cruel game, leading him up to take a big moment in his life, only to snatch it away at the last moment. He wouldn't be shocked if it were true, but that didn't stop him from being annoyed at it.

"Of course," He muttered.

"I'll go to the car," Freed said, apparently not hearing Laxus' mutter. "Get the umbrella so you don't have to walk in the rain. And it'll give you some privacy."

"You don't need to do that."

"Oh no," Freed grinned. "If I have to kiss the boots of the thunder god, I'm at least going to make sure they don't taste of rain water."

Laxus chuckled, and pulled out his phone with a small smile on his face. Freed smiled back, walking towards the car and allowing the rain to hit his head as he did so. He really did enjoy the rain, more than perhaps he should, but he felt as though it washed away the past and lead onto new things. Maybe it was a overly-philosophical way to look at the weather, but Freed thought that now would be a pretty good time for a new beginning.

Getting the umbrella didn't take long, and he soon began his walk back across the parking lot. Half way across he saw Laxus lower his phone, having ended the call. Three quarters of the way across he saw the rigidity of the other man's posture. Once fully across, he saw that Laxus had gone as white as a sheet. Something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Laxus shook his head weakly in response.

"T-that was Magnolia General Hospital," His voice quivered as he spoke. "Gramps. H-he had a heart attack."


	23. Chapter 23 - The Hospital

**Hey all. Hope the cliffhanger from last update wasnt too bad for you all. I hope you like the next chapter and the small amount of angst that comed with it. I'm sure everything will work out fine and it won't get worse for Laxus, becuase who could be cruel enough to do that to the poor man. So lets see what happens.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three – The Hospital**

 ** _Time – 19:26pm_**

Fate was cruel, Laxus had concluded.

It seemed like there was no other conclusion to make. The moment Laxus found any stability, any happiness, anything even remotely good in his life, fate had a plan to ruin it for him. First, he finds a good job and his life starts to resemble something normal, and then his mother comes and ruins that all over again. And now, after he finally starts to feel happy with a man who seems to be the perfect partner for him, and this is where fate takes him. The shitty corridor of a fucking hospital.

The news had hit him like a sucker punch. Given his age, Makarov was remarkably healthy and active, so Laxus had never considered the possibility of him having a heart attack, or really getting badly sick at all. But something must have been wrong and Laxus couldn't stop himself from blaming himself; for god's sake, he knew Makarov's diet wasn't the most healthy but he had done nothing to change it. What if that was the reason?

Freed had told him that blaming himself was useless and just making things worse. Laxus pretended to agree.

Driving from the pub to the hospital hadn't taken long, and Laxus wasn't sure if Freed had even tried to kept to the speed limit. Laxus wasn't really sure of anything that had happened during the drive; Freed had completely taken control. It seemed that he was on the phone outside of the pub one moment, and listening to Freed negotiate with the hospital receptionist the next. It was good that Freed had done the talking, Laxus doubted he had the patience to deal with the woman without making a scene and probably harming his chances of seeing his grandfather.

And now they simply had to wait. The corridor of the hospital had some seats scattered around, and the two men were sitting in the ones nearest the room Makarov was being held in. Nobody had told them anything about his condition, other than he was alive but being closely monitored. It calmed Laxus to hear that, if only a little bit.

"Thanks for sitting with me," Laxus muttered.

Freed looked towards the blonde, frowning a little. The blonde was hunched over, elbows resting on his knees and hands against his forehead. His right leg was bouncing slightly, and his eyes hadn't moved once from the spot on the floor they'd landed on.

Though it seemed unnecessary to say it, Freed was worried about him. The car ride had been almost silent and, every time Freed had looked towards him, Laxus seemed to be in a daze. It was hard to blame him. Although he hadn't actually met the man – having only seen him once from inside the car – he knew how much his grandfather meant to Laxus. Having him in such a fragile state must be horrible, not knowing what was happening to him must be comparable to torture.

"Of course," Freed replied, voice almost soft. "If there's anything else I can-"

"No, no," Laxus muttered again, cutting him off. "Just keep being here, y'know. Just need a bit of company."

"Sure," Freed nodded a little.

They both went quiet, allowing Laxus time to retreat into his own mind again; something arguably worse than the awkward conversation that could be forced between them both if Laxus wanted it. The blonde couldn't seem to settle on a topic, and none of them were good. But still, despite the nauseating feeling that his mind was causing, his thoughts still raced.

He knew that, just because Makarov had survived, doesn't mean he was fine. The fact it had happened at all meant Makarov would be fragile, and there was still the chance that the doctors would miss something or whatever caused the attack would continue and, possibly, Makarov could end up…

No, he shouldn't entertain that possibility.

But he knew he had to. Makarov was an old man who had just went through a heart attack, for fucks sake. Of course there was a damn chance that he wouldn't live through it. And Laxus had no fucking idea how he would cope if that actually happened. It made his stomach drop and throat lump just thinking about it.

Makarov had always been there. Always. He'd been one of the few constants in Laxus' life, and perhaps the only person Laxus could say that he loved. Yes, they'd fought many times over the years, but he was probably the person who knew Laxus the most and the blonde couldn't imagine a world where he wasn't there. Because he was always there. Always willing to help him out when he was going through some shit, always allowing him to crash on his sofa when his heating was fucked during the winter or a pipe burst under his sink, and always there to tell him to get on with life no matter what was thrown at him.

It was almost ironic. Makarovs advice of pushing through his issues didn't work when the issue was Makarov.

There was just too much happening. Too many possibilities to think about, and only one of them was anywhere near good. No matter what happened, Makarov would still have to recover from a heart attack, he would still be fragile as hell and would possibly have to change his lifestyle; Laxus didn't know what he would do if anything worse than that happened.

So he forced himself not to think about it. Because he couldn't cope with the alternative.

"I should call Mira," Laxus spoke up again, Freed looking towards him in confusion. "She asked me to come by the bar once we finished, wanted to find out how it went, I guess. And she's known Gramps for as long as we've known each other, she should probably know."

"Of course," Freed patted Laxus' thigh in a small gesture of comfort.

Laxus pulled out his phone, opened his contacts and scrolled down to Mirajane's name. He moved his thumb to the call button, but stopped himself from pressing it. If he cancelled on Mirajane, she would need to know why, and Laxus would have to tell her what happened. He didn't know if he could actually say it without letting out the feelings he was trying to hold back; and he wasn't ready for that to happen. Not yet at least.

His grip on his phone tightened a little, and he tried to will himself to push call. But he couldn't. He locked his phone, annoyed at himself and pissed at the situation. The only comfort he felt was the hand on his leg, which tightened a little to get his attention. Laxus looked up to Freed.

"D'you want me to do it?" Freed offered, voice slightly concerned.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not," Freed had a small, comforting smile on his face. His hand was still resting in the comforting way it had before. "Anything to make this a little easier."

"Thanks," Laxus sent a weak, false smile back. "E-erm, you don't mind if I go for a smoke, do ya? I only do it when I'm stressed and, well, you can guess. And, I don't really wanna be here when you're talking about it."

"That's fine," Freed patted his leg. Laxus was thankful Freed wasn't making a big deal about the smoking.

"I won't be long," Laxus assured him, standing up. He was still slightly dazed in his appearance. "Erm, just text me or something if there's any…"

He motioned towards the door his grandfather was behind, and Freed nodded. Laxus slowly started to walk down the corridor towards the staircase, acting more on autopilot than anything else. Before entering the stairwell, he looked over his shoulder to see that Freed had pulled out his phone and was holding it against his ear. He saw Laxus look towards him and gave him a small, sympathetic smile. Laxus returned it weakly and left before he could hear the conversation.

The walk towards the smoking area went quickly, even though it took about five minutes to get there. It was only then he realised that he didn't have anything to smoke – he really only did it on rare occasions – so looked around a little lost. An older man must have seen this, as he walked towards Laxus.

"Want one?" He offered, holding forward a cigarette.

"Thanks," Laxus took it, allowing the man to light it before taking a small drag. He winced; he really didn't enjoy smoking much, but it did help calm his nerves whenever needed.

"Are you okay," The man asked, Laxus looking towards him.

"Grandad had a heart attack," Laxus found himself saying. "The guy basically raised me, so it's kind of shit."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine."

It wasn't fine, but Laxus tried not to be the type to push his problems onto other people, certainly not strangers. But at least that put an end to the conversation and allowed Laxus some time to think in the slightly fresh air, this time without the suffocating atmosphere of the hospital. He breathed out a small puff of smoke, trying to force himself to confront what was happening; the fact that there was a chance of him losing the man who raised him.

He would have to clean out the old man's apartment and get rid of the things he didn't need. He'd have to organise a fucking funeral for him, because there was nobody else to do it. He would have to tell all of his friends that he was gone. He wouldn't see him again...

It wasn't fair.

His short spiral was cut off when his phone buzzed in his pocket. His heart lurched a little at the sudden vibration, and he immediately assumed that it was Freed telling him that some news had come out about Makarov. That could either be good or bad, entirely dependant on what the news was. He pulled out his phone quickly, hoping to god it was good news.

Only he saw that it wasn't news at all, or Freed for that matter. It was a short text from Mirajane; she must have finished talking with Freed then. His heart drooped a little.

 ** _From: Mirajane_**

 _Hey sweetie. I'm sorry to hear about Makarov. I'll come to see you_

 _as soon as I get off work. Cana said that she'll be there soon. But I_

 _can tell her not to come if you don't want._

Okay. So it wasn't anything bad then, at least that was something. He still would have rather have something to keep him calm, even if it was just a nurse telling him that his grandfather was stable. Just something.

But he knew that he would be told as soon as something came out. So he quickly unlocked his phone and typed out a quick reply, deciding that he would rather have Cana be there than not. He knew it was unfair to expect Freed be with him for however long it took for something to happen with Makarov. At least if Cana was there, he could let Freed go home without being alone.

 ** _To: Mirajane_**

 _Thanks. And don't worry about telling her, might be nice to have_

 _her here. See you later._

He pocketed his phone before he could see a reply, flicked the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out, nodded to the man who had given it to him, and started to walk towards the hospital's entrance again. The moment he walked through the automatic door, he found himself filled with the same nauseating feeling again. He looked towards the clock on the wall as he passed, to see that it was only 7:39. He had only been here for twenty-five minutes.

This was going to be a long fucking night.

* * *

 ** _Time – 20:02pm_**

The silence was starting to get to Laxus. Occasionally somebody would walk past – once or twice it had been a nurse and Laxus had perked up to see if they knew what was happening with Makarov – but other than that, the corridor was practically silent. Even Freed was silent, but Laxus had surmised that he probably didn't want to push him into a conversation he didn't want; Laxus was thankful for it.

His foot was still bouncing and body still tense, and the longer he was kept waiting the more nervous he was. Surely, if Makarov was okay, they would be able to tell him by now. They knew he was waiting for any news at all, so why wouldn't they tell him anything unless they thought it would upset him?

He really needed to stop going to the worst-case scenario.

It was hard to stop, though. He found himself becoming more erratic as time passed, getting to the point where his eyes would immediately flicker towards the door at the end of the corridor any time someone so much as passed by it. He knew it wasn't healthy, and it certainly wasn't helping, but he couldn't stop himself.

One thing that had helped him was Freed. Yes, conversation between them both had been limited, but his presence was comforting. Occasionally, Freed would place his hand on Laxus' leg and leave it there, reminding Laxus that he was there for him and that he was willing to help however he could. Laxus counted himself lucky to have someone willing to do this with him; he still felt a little guilty for keeping Freed here but had yet to voice this as he didn't want to be left alone.

Perhaps that was selfish. But if there was any situation where that was justified, it was now.

Now out of habit, Laxus' eyes flickered to the door when he noticed it open from down the corridor. However, he didn't feel the sense of nervous disappointment when he was greeted with the sight of a random person, nor was he filled with anxiety as he was when he saw a nurse who could tell him anything at all. Rather, he felt an odd sense of comfort at the two women who were walking towards them.

"Laxus, darling," The soft voice was familiar, and almost made Laxus smile. Evergreen. "I'm so sorry."

It had been quite some time since they had seen each other. After finding out she was back in Magnolia, they had planned to meet and catch up, but it had yet to happen. Perhaps she had intended to join in the post-date interrogation, but obviously that wasn't happening.

She and Cana made quick work of the distance between them, and Ever quickly gave Laxus a half hug. It was obvious by the expression on her face that she was affected by the news of Makarov's state – he basically turned into a surrogate grandfather to anyone who had known Laxus as a child, her included – but she was trying not to show it. Laxus appreciated it, and hoped she knew that without him saying anything.

"How is he?" Cana asked, not moving to hug Laxus. She was never the most physical, unless drunk.

"We don't know. Won't tell us anything," Laxus sighed. He then realised that Ever and Freed hadn't actually met, and Ever was looking at him with a small amount of confusion. "Shit, sorry. Freed, this is Ever, she's one of my school friends, moved away a while ago so you haven't met her. Ever, this is Freed. You probably heard about him."

"Hi," Ever smiled a little looking towards Freed.

"Hello," Freed replied, thinking it not appropriate to greet her in the way he normally would. Saying 'its nice to meet you' or a variation of that seemed unkind towards Laxus.

Evergreen took the final seat in the corridor, putting Laxus in the middle of her and Freed. Cana had decided to lean against the wall, looking down at Laxus with a small expression of worry. She managed to catch Freed's eye and, after being sure she had his attention, she mouthed 'He okay?' as subtly as she could. Freed frowned a little and shook his head, just enough to reply to her without letting Laxus know.

With a small sigh, Cana spoke up. "So you really don't know anything?"

"Not about how he's doing, no," Laxus grunted, looking back to the floor and resting his head against his hands again. He was thankful they had come, but he was forced to confront how little he knew again.

Both Cana and Evergreen frowned a little at the response, and Freed took note of this. Seeing that Laxus had clammed up and clearly didn't want to speak, he decided that he would rather explain the vague comment rather than letting them unknowingly bother him.

"His neighbour was here when we came," Freed began. "She found him after she heard him fall and called the ambulance for him. All she could tell us is that he was on the floor and that he was cooking when it happened. The ambulance workers didn't say much, but we know they didn't allow anyone to ride with him on the way here, but apparently that's commonplace for heart attacks and she was told they were equipped to help him."

As he spoke, he had placed his hand against Laxus' thigh again. For the first time, Laxus actually took it in his own and intertwined their fingers together. The strength in which Laxus squeezed his hand was practically heart-breaking, as was the realisation that the reason Laxus' leg was bouncing was because he was shaking. Freed could only think to gently stroke his partner's hand in comfort.

Both Cana and Evergreen noticed the small gesture. But did nothing but share a small glance and tiny smile.

"I'm sure you'll hear something soon," Evergreen assured him, her tone almost enough to make Laxus believe her. Only almost, though.

"Before they kick us out?" He chuckled humourlessly.

"You really think I'll let them kick you out without a fight," Evergreen grinned a little, and Laxus gave a weak smile in reply. Seeing this, Ever decided that she would at least try and lighten the mood a little. "And I won't have to hold back against them, because they can sew any wounds up immediately."

Laxus chuckled weakly, though was appreciative of the effort. "Guess you haven't changed then?"

"You'd be disappointed if I had, sweetheart, and you know it," Evergreen smiled.

The comment did a little to ease his tension, though not much. He was still too focused on the multiple unknowns about his grandfather to feel any sense of ease, but he knew what she was trying to do and was thankful of it. He was glad to have a friend who would be supportive the first time seeing each other after such a long time, and glad that his antagonistic teenage attitude hadn't put her off getting to know her when the first met. Maybe he had more constants in his life than he first thought; he still wasn't ready to lose one though.

Both Ever and Cana must have realised that Laxus wasn't ready to talk yet, as they both became quiet and allowed Laxus to retreat into his own thoughts. It wasn't the nicest place with all the nervousness he was going through, but Laxus felt he should at least arrange his thoughts before he should properly try to talk to anybody.

His discomfort must have been obvious, as the silence only lasted five or so minutes before he felt Evergreen take his free hand and gently pat it.

"He'll be okay," She whispered, and Laxus tried to believe her.

"Better be," He settled on. "Old bastard."

His words were slightly optimistic, but Freed could feel how tight the grip on his hand had become. He tried to squeeze it back, wanting to give his partner any comfort he could. It probably didn't do much.

With that, the silence was truly began, and Laxus tried not to let it suffocate him. But the ticking of a nearby clock, the occasional squeaking of shoes against the overly polished floor, and the buzzing of the machines behind closed doors all made that difficult. But the fact he was surrounded by people who cared enough to endure this with him comforted him just a little bit. Not enough to calm him, but enough to bring an almost genuine smile onto his face.

Time seemed to drag on, and Laxus found himself almost tortured by the clock that taunted him. His hand was still intertwined with Freed's, making him feel guilty every time he thought about it. The guy just wanted to take him out on a date, and he'd been sitting in a hospital for nearly an hour dealing with an almost silent partner.

He knew he was being selfish expecting him to stay.

Eventually, he knew he had to tell Freed to go home. There was no way of knowing how long Makarov would be under observation – or whatever the hell they were actually doing with him – and Laxus intended to stay as long as it took. He couldn't ask Freed to do that.

"Hey," Laxus whispered when Ever and Cana had left to get a drink from a vending machine. "Y'know you don't need to stuck around, right? This ain't the way you wanted to end the night, not fair to keep you here. Probably not the thing you wanted keeping you up tonight."

The joke was a little weak, and he did it to make his words seem a little less pathetic. When he looked at Freed's expression, he knew it hadn't worked.

"Okay," He began after a few moments, having made sure to think through what he was about to say. "If you'd rather me leave, then of course I understand, and I'll go. But if you're just saying that to be polite, or because you don't want to be a bother of some kind of me, then you needn't worry. I want to be here for you, if that's what you want."

"I-I do," Laxus muttered, squeezing Freed's hand for a moment. "Fucking mind reading bastard."

"I would have thought you'd be used to it now," Freed smiled slightly.

With an almost genuine snort, Laxus felt his shoulders untense a little. He was appreciative of Cana and Ever being here, of course he was, but Freed could offer him something different to them. The fact he could simply hold his hand in silence, without worry of being judged nor any concerns really, gave him a sense of comfort that his friends couldn't. The fact that Freed was willing to stay here for as long as needed – and for as long as Laxus wanted – made that comfort free of guilt.

In any other situation, he might thank fate for brining he and Freed together. But not today.

"Thanks for staying," Laxus muttered. "Means a lot."

"Of course," Freed nodded.

The two women returned soon after, handing Laxus a bottle of water and both holding drinks of their own choosing. They were still quiet as they had been before, and Laxus wordlessly started to drink what he had been given; he wouldn't have eaten fries if he had known he'd be kept waiting for so long. Not that that really mattered.

It took some time, but eventually the doors to Makarov's room opened for the first time since they had arrived, and a nurse stepped through it. She looked around for a moment until her eyes settled on the small group that populated the chairs.

"You're here for Makarov Dreyar, aren't you?" She asked.

Laxus immediately stood up, removing his hand from Freed's for the first time. He took a step forward, not trying to hide the concern on his face. He didn't notice that both Freed and Evergreen had also stood up, and Cana had pushed herself off the wall.

"Yeah, how is he?"

"He's still under observation, so you won't be able to see him yet," The nurse's voice was calm, obviously used to having conversations like this. "He's awake now, and seemingly stable. We just need to do some tests to see how he's doing and what caused the attack, so we don't need anything exciting him."

"Yeah, shit. Thanks," Laxus muttered. "You'll tell us when we can see him, right?"

"Of course," The nurse smiled. "And don't worry. Considering what happened to him, he's holding out very well."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded a little.

The nurse walked down the corridor to who knows where, leaving Laxus to process the first thing he had been told: He's holding out well. Of course he was, Makarov fucking Dreyar wasn't the type of guy to lay down and let a heart attack screw him over completely. Laxus tried to chastise himself for thinking anything could happen to his grandfather, but he really just felt relief with what he had been told.

But this was good. Makarov was doing well, and that was all he needed to know. He walked back to the chair and sat down, this time lessening the tension in his body that he'd had before. Freed took his hand again, and the comfort of his attention returned.

Perhaps this would be okay. He just needed to be hopeful.

* * *

 ** _Time – 22:39pm_**

Freed didn't know when Laxus had fallen asleep, but he was glad he had. The nervousness that Laxus was undergoing was obvious, as seen by his tense posture and his rigid expression. He'd calmed a little after first getting news by the nurse, but Freed could tell that the longer he was kept waiting without learning anything after that point, the more he got worried again. Freed was glad the man was getting some sleep, even if it only allowed him a few moments of calm before he inevitably woke up again.

Sitting here, he felt uncharacteristically useless. Freed wouldn't class himself an unempathetic – he needed to be emotionally intelligent to survive in what he did – but this was a situation he had never been in before. He had no reference as to how to act, so he was simply doing what he hoped would be best for Laxus: small amount of physical contact, and occasional reminders that he wanted to help him.

Every time he looked towards the blonde, he felt sadness. The tight grasp Laxus had when they were holding each other's hands told Freed everything he needed to know about the situation; Laxus wasn't ready to lose his grandfather yet.

Freed could understand why. Every time Laxus had mentioned his grandfather, it had been complimentary – even if he didn't realise that was his intention. Makarov was the man who raised him and, although Freed hadn't had someone like that in his own life, he understood that the idea of losing someone like that must he inexplicably cruel. It was the least he could do to just stay with him and offer him some moral support whenever possible.

He smiled a little as he felt Laxus nuzzle against his shoulder.

The two had been alone for nearly half an hour. Evergreen was the first to go, claiming that she and Freed should meet again under better circumstances, to which Freed agreed. Cana left a short while after, picking up Mirajane to bring her to the hospital after she had closed the bar early. Laxus had fallen asleep before Cana left, and had been gently snoring since.

At the soft sounds, Freed found himself calm. It reminded him a little of the night he and Laxus had shared together, and a small smile formed at the memory. He leant down and kissed the man on the top of his head before anyone walked by again.

He sighed. Neither man knew what was going to happen next. Freed hoped he could be there for Laxus, whatever the fallout was.

The two remained in this position for a few minutes, with the occasional nurse or other visitor walking by and sparing them a glance. Most of them seemed either sympathetic or simply uncaring towards them, which was fine by Freed. He would rather not have any conversations at all, other than with Laxus. The blonde was to be his main priority for the night.

His mind did wonder, though. Perhaps to a steam of thoughts that could be considered selfish, but one he couldn't stop from happening. He began to wonder what it would be like if he were to have someone like Makarov in his life. Sure, he had grown up with care workers who certainly tried to fill in the gap that a parent left, but it always seemed somewhat false. Laxus had painted Makarov as a man who would practically adopt any child into his family; Freed wondered what it might be like to have Makarov in that kind of position in his own life.

Yes; defiantly selfish. Laxus was probably terrified of losing the man, Freed shouldn't be wondering what it would be like to have him. He'd lived happily without one thus far.

Eventually, the calmness between them both was interrupted by the doors at the end of the corridor opening. He glanced towards it to see Mirajane walking towards them, without Cana in tow. She upped her pace after seeing them, a small frown on her face when she looked at Laxus. It calmed a little when she realised that he was sleeping.

"Hey," She whispered, as not to wake him. Freed was glad of it, she must have guessed he needed rest as well. "How is everything?"

"We haven't been told much. He's still being tested, but they said he was doing well all things considering," Freed spoke softly, making sure he didn't move so he wouldn't disrupt Laxus. "Other than that, we don't know much."

"And Laxus?"

"He's worried. Internalising it though," Freed sighed a little, hand resting on Laxus' leg. "I imagine that, if he let his actual feelings to be known, it might break him."

Mirajane nodded, silently agreeing with Freed's claims. He sometimes tried to hide it, but anyone who knew Laxus well knew that he was a slave to his emotions at the worst of times. They would also know that Laxus would rather work through his issues in his own way – this could be anything from denying their existence to asking someone to help – but the best way to be there for him was to allow him to make the first move. She was glad that Freed seemed to have realised this.

She took the seat on the other side of Laxus, placing her bag on her lap and sighing a little. Freed looked to her with a small amount of concern but didn't say anything. Laxus had claimed that she had known Makarov for a short while, and she had obviously been upset when he called her, so his worry expanded to her as well.

"Is Cana not with you?" He asked, not wanting her to be in the same state Laxus had been in. Mirajane defiantly was more of a talker than Laxus in this respect.

"There was a rush on in the bar," Mirajane sighed. "Business hasn't been great, so we can't really lose it. She's only staying until Elfman gets there. She'll get a taxi when he does and come back when she can."

Freed nodded, glad that Laxus wouldn't have to worry about Cana returning or not. The fact he had expected Freed to leave at the first given chance suggested that Laxus was worried about being a bother on them all, and if he woke up to find that Cana had left then that might only worsen his mood. That defiantly wasn't something that the blonde could handle right now.

"We shouldn't be acting like this, not if the nurses are being optimistic," Mirajane said, forcing herself to sound somewhat cheerful. "And certainly not when two of my best friends went on their first date."

"I suppose we shouldn't," Freed chuckled a little. It was more out of obligation than amusement.

"So, how did it go?" She looked over the top of Laxus' sleeping head, and Freed was ready point out how it ended almost immediately. He halted when he saw the look on her face; she needed the distraction as much as Laxus needed time to himself.

"I think it went well," Freed smiled a little as he thought about the afternoon. He hadn't actually had time to assess it in his mind as of then, but the image of Laxus' enjoyment as he drove the car through the forest warmed him a little. "He seemed to have a lot of fun with it, and the meal was good as well. For the most part, I'd consider it a success."

"So you're going to see each other again, right?" Mirajane asked, her voice lacking the usual spark it contained when talking about a budding relationship.

"We've been on vacation together and had our first kiss over a month ago," Freed smiled a little. "I don't think us seeing each other again was in much doubt."

Mirajane opened her mouth to speak but was beat to the punch. "Yer getting cocky again, mind-reader."

Both Freed and Mirajane jumped a little at the sudden voice coming from the blonde. He was still resting his head against Freed's shoulder and still had his eyes closed, but he was obviously awake. Either that, or he had suddenly started to sleep talk and knew exactly what was happening around him. Freed smiled a little, glad that Laxus could at least try to make a joke that seemed genuine, rather than forced.

"And how long have you been awake?" Freed asked, patting Laxus' leg.

"Think it was when the two of ya started talking. Light sleeper and good ears, shitty combination," Laxus grumbled a little. He then opened his eyes and looked towards Freed. "They tell you anything yet."

Freed shook his head. "Sorry."

"Ain't your fault," Laxus said with a small sigh, sitting up and looking towards Mirajane. He sent her a small smile in greeting before running a hand over his face. He clearly had been awoken before he wanted to be and would rather be sleeping. "How long was I out?"

Glancing towards the clock, Freed smiled a little. "About fifty minutes."

"Shit," Laxus muttered. "You must've been sitting there for a couple hours without standing up. You can, like, go get a drink or something to keep yer legs from falling asleep completely."

Again, Freed was prepared to say that Laxus didn't need to bother himself with that, but stopped when he saw Laxus' expression. It wasn't as obvious as Mirajane, but Freed could see that Laxus' words held more meaning that they suggested. It was obvious that Laxus wanted some time alone, and this was his way of politely asking for it without seeming rude. He smiled a little, patted Laxus' knee and stood up.

"Do you want me to get anything for you?"

"A coffee, if they have a machine for it," Laxus sent a small, thankful smile after speaking.

"Sure," Freed nodded, then looked towards Mirajane. "Want to come with me?"

Thankfully, Mirajane saw that Laxus needed time alone and agreed without complaint. They both gave the blonde a small gesture of comfort – Mirajane patted him on the shoulder and Freed kissed his hand – before they walked down the corridor.

As they walked to the café containing the working drinks and vending machines, they were silent. Freed because he was worried for his partner, and Mirajane because she was still trying to process the fact that a man she cared for was in hospital. Being forced to work the bar with that on her mind had been horrible, and her thoughts had been constantly flicking between how Makarov could be doing to how Laxus was coping with it. Seeing the blonde hadn't done much to calm her nerves on her second worry.

"How do you think he's doing," Freed suddenly asked as they walked towards the entrance, which they had to pass to get to the café. "You probably know him better than me, I thought I might as well ask?"

"I think he's doing okay," Mirajane sighed. "But, if Makarov gets any worse or if he… you know. If that happens, it'll ruin him."

"Yes, that's what I'm worried about," Freed looked down a little. "What about you?"

"Come on," Mirajane smiled a little but stopped, placing a hand on Freed's back in a comforting way. "If that happens, Laxus is going to be a wreck. You don't need to worry about me, just focus on him. I'll be fine."

Although she clearly wouldn't be, Freed nodded. Perhaps she and Laxus were closer in how they dealt with emotions than Freed had thought; even if Mirajane pretended to be more emotional, she hid away the more impactful things to deal with herself. That wasn't any of his business though, so he continued walking towards the café, only to realise that Mira wasn't following him. In fact, she had stopped completely and looked like a statue.

He frowned and turned, looking towards where her gaze was cast. It was on the entrance of the building, specifically the reception. He frowned, not seeing anything that would garner the steel-like expression she was wearing. With furrowed brows, he looked towards her again.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"See her," Mirajane snapped, nodding towards a woman who was speaking to the receptionist. Freed nodded. "Bitch is Laxus' mom."


	24. Chapter 24 - The Final Goodbye

**Hey all. It seems that the end is approaching, as I plan to only write two more chapters for this darling fic of mine. But will there be a happy ending, will Freed and Laxus have their happy ever after? You'll soon find out, but for now let's see how Laxus can deal with the next challenge sent his way. His oh so caring mother.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four – The Last Goodbye**

 ** _Time – 22:43pm_**

Freed couldn't shake the feeling that they should have stopped her.

After seeing Laxus' mother talking to the hospital receptionist, he and Mirajane had undergone a quick, whispered debate as to what they should do. Freed's instinct, after seeing how much his mother's near constant disappointment had affected Laxus, was to deny her going any further and leaving Laxus in ignorance at her presence at all. He didn't think that the blonde could deal with anything more than he already was.

Mirajane disagreed. Despite also knowing how she had constantly let him down, she suggested that it wasn't their place to interfere and maybe she would help; her words were spoken more out of spite than actual optimism. Freed unwillingly agreed, but couldn't fight the idea that they should have stopped her.

But it was too late for that now. He would just have to hope Laxus could handle this.

The two hadn't spoken to Sophia, instead opting to wait around the reception for a little while. After Sophia started to walk in the direction of Makarov's room, they slowly began following her. She knew neither of them, so she didn't spare them a second glance, meaning they could easily follow her and arrive at Laxus' side if needed without getting her attention.

Walking to the ward that Makarov was in didn't take long, and Freed felt his pace increase a little as Sophia walked through the doors that led to where Laxus was. He tried to convince himself that perhaps this could be a good thing, maybe somehow Sophia had found out about Makarov's state and wanted to be there to support Laxus for the first time, and that she was actually going to act like his mother. As hard as he tried to convince himself that was true, he couldn't believe it. Nothing he'd heard about her said that was possible.

He went to walk forward through the doors so that he could be by Laxus' side, but Mirajane stopped him by placing a hand on his stomach. He looked down to her with a frown.

"We should let him deal with this on his own," She explained. "He doesn't need us hovering over him."

"Perhaps," Freed agreed, again hesitantly. "I worry, though."

"I know you do," Mirajane smiled a little. "You're good for him, I don't think I've actually said that to you yet."

Freed ignored the compliment. "If it goes badly, you won't stop me?"

"No," Mirajane's smile got a little sad. "Just hope it doesn't come to that."

Giving a small half-nod, Freed walked to the doors and leant against the adjoining wall, still wanting to walk through them; but maybe Mirajane was right. So he simply put all his attention on listening through the doors, and could hear the irritatingly loud clicking of Sophia's boots against the tiled floor as she walked. If noting else, that meant Freed could hear the conversation.

Laxus didn't give any immediate attention to the sound of footsteps walking up the corridor, knowing that it wouldn't be Freed and not remembering Mirajane making such a loud noise when she walked in earlier. He kept looking down at the floor, trying to organise his thoughts and deciding that he would just let the person walk past without looking towards them. He just needed to use the small amount of time without anyone being around him to calm himself down.

However, the small shell he'd formed around himself was interrupted when he realised that the clicking hadn't gone past him as he had expected, instead it had stopped right beside him. He glanced to the side to see some legs he couldn't put a name to, so he slowly looked up to see who it was.

Shit. Of course. Of fucking course.

Words seemed to fail him for a few moments, and all he could think about was the ridiculousness of the situation he found himself in again. Hours ago, he was more than happy on a date, and now he was in a hospital, waiting for any news about his possibly dying grandfather. So of course, just in case the universe thought there was a chance that anything good could be gained from this situation, along came his mother.

She couldn't turn up when they scheduled a meeting that was meant to actually try and forge a relationship together. But when he was in a low point in his life, she turns up without any issues at all.

"How the hell d'you know I'm here," He grunted, not looking at her.

"I was trying to call your grandfather. The ambulance didn't take his phone and a neighbour heard it ringing, so answered and told me what happened," She explained.

She then took the seat next to Laxus, without having at least the common curtsy to ask if he was okay with that. No, she didn't even have the decency to ask how he was feeling, or if he had heard anything about how Makarov was doing. Why would Laxus expect anything more from the woman who abandoned him as a kid.

"Great," He muttered sarcastically.

The two sat side by side, and Laxus wondered why he wasn't yelling at her or demanding she leave. Maybe he was too tired for that today, or maybe he didn't want to disrupt the people in the other rooms of the hospital. Honestly, it had gotten to the point where he wouldn't question how he dealt with her, seemingly it didn't mean jack shit if she was going to keep turning up at the worst possible moments.

He tried to distract himself, not wanting to give Sophia the satisfaction of occupying his mind; as petty as that sounded. He didn't want to interact with her at all, and he certainly wasn't going to instigate anything.

The silence could only last so long, though.

"I know you probably would have preferred if I had called you before coming here," Sophia started, and Laxus' mind immediately went to the fact he didn't want her here at all. "But I really needed to talk to you and, well, I didn't think that your grandfather would like to give me your phone number to organise something so I thought-"

"You thought that you'd just come here, to a fucking hospital," Laxus muttered. "Great fucking timing."

Sophia seemed to be a little startled by the interruption. She shouldn't be, it was literally the least she deserved for how she treated him, but of course she wouldn't consider the possibility of her being in the wrong and deserving anything bad happening to her.

Because she was fucking selfish. Not only had she come here unannounced, she hadn't even thought about Makarov once, or even how Laxus was feeling. Hell, she didn't even give a crappy, half-assed apology about not coming to their meeting. She went straight to the part about her, as she always did. In her mind, she was a priority and everyone else was an afterthought. Apparently, a pissed off son and the medical emergency of that son's real carer didn't change that.

"I understand that you're probably quite angry at me Laxus," Sophia continued. "But I am your mother and-"

"You noticed that, did ya," Laxus grunted. "Took a while."

"Laxus," Sophia kept talking, instead of shutting up and walking away like Laxus had hoped. "Please let me speak. I know that you were probably disappointed that I couldn't be at the café, but I really did want to and I-"

At this, Laxus felt his patience snap a little. So now, instead of just avoiding the fact that she let him down on the day she was fucking meant to make up for constantly letting him down, she was talking about it and still hadn't actually apologised! She even said she knew that Laxus would be angry because of what she had done, and still didn't feel guilty.

He clenched his teeth a little, and found himself standing up, glaring down at the woman who still thought she could call herself his mother.

"Can you stop saying fucking I? For fucks sake, are you that fucking arrogant you can't get through a sentence without talking about yourself?" He spoke in a hiss, not wanting to draw attention to them. "And if you wanted to be there so damn much, why the hell weren't you? New job again? Maybe Denmark this time?"

"Laxus, please calm down," Sophia said again, and Laxus nearly laughed. She didn't give him the chance, though. "The day we planned to meet- there was a pretty big storm and the traffic was-"

"Don't you dare," Laxus growled, his tone more venomous that he thought possible. "You pissed around with my life for so fucking long, and I try to forgive you. You don't turn up. The least you could do would is not give me such a fucking poor excuse. The rain, you fucking kidding me."

His chest was heaving now, and his tone had raised louder. He still managed to keep himself from actually shouting – not wanting to risk getting kicked out – but he was so fucking close. Because how dare she put so little care into him, into his life and his family. The man who did her fucking job could be dying in the next room, and all she could think about was the crappy reason she let him down again so that she didn't have to feel guilty.

Why the hell had he considered forgiving her?

Outside of the door, Freed felt his hands clench a little. It was hard not to walk down and join his partner; hearing the breaks of emotion in his voice was heart-breaking. And the anger he felt towards Sophia was quickly growing, but he kept himself where he stood. As horrible as it was to know Laxus was in pain so close, he knew that he needed to let Laxus get his feelings out as this opportunity might not come again.

He felt comforted by the gentle touch of Mirajane's hand on his arm. He wanted to give the same comfort to Laxus.

Laxus tried to calm himself down, but found it hard. He forced himself to look away form her, to run his hand though his hair and walk a few steps away from her. But his mind was racing, filled with anger and nausea and worry.

"Why are you even here," He asked, voice still angered but a little calmer now. "Why now?"

"A few months ago, your father got in contact with me," Sophia looked down a little, and Laxus' jaw clenched at the mention of his father. "We've been talking to each other since then, through letters. I'm sure you know we're still married even though we've been separated for some time now."

 _Oh for fucks sake. No._

"We decided that, when he gets released, we're going to try and get together again. We'll move into Magnolia again, and-"

"And what?" Laxus growled again, and his voice raised again. Still not yelling yet, though. "What does that have to do with me? You want my permission or something? You want us to be a little family again? Because this is what that family is for me. My mother, who left me as a kid for no fucking reason, who messes with my head all the damn time and doesn't give a damn shit about me. And my supposed father, who fucked up my face for the rest of my life and can't spend a damn year without going back to jail for some fucking stupid reason."

From the corridor, Freed remained in place. His fist was now entirely clenched, and his expression painted into one of anger. He was close to moving but decided now wasn't the moment.

Laxus tried not to let his body tense, but he found it near impossible. She was getting with Ivan again, and wanted to get close to Laxus again! Was she intending to get him and Ivan on good terms somehow, because that would not happen. Perhaps a month or so ago he would consider reconciling with his mother, but that man was someone who he would never speaking too again.

"He is your father, Laxus."

"No he's not," Laxus shook his head a little. "The second he did this-" He gestured to his scar. "He lost that fucking title. He is not my family."

"Yes he is," Sophia's voice was now firm. Like she was scolding a child; twenty years too late. "We both are."

Laxus laughed a little. It was filled with spite, anger and annoyance.

"No. And if you think for one second that I could consider getting close to him again, then you…" He trailed off, shaking his head again. "Do you even know what a fucking family is? Like, really? Because in my mind, you ain't it anymore. You're just some woman who couldn't keep her legs together for some bastard ex-con, who got knocked up because of it, and that's it."

"Laxus Dreyar you do not speak to me like that!"

"I will speak to you however the hell I like!" Laxus yelled. "Family is the people who care for you. You never did, you never will. That man, the one in the hospital bed who you still haven't asked for, he is family. He cares about me, he puts the damn effort in."

He had to stop himself, he was yelling and he knew that would get him kicked out; that was something he needed to avoid. He took a few moments to calm himself, allowing the silence to relax him and untense his body. Or maybe Sophia was still talking. If she was, his heart was beating louder than her words. However, as his heart calmed, Sophia's voice became harder to deny and Laxus found himself tensing all over again.

"What if he dies? You're just going to be alone when me and your father are right there?"

Laxus' eyes turned to stone, and Freed started to walk through the door before Mirajane could stop him.

"You do not get to do that," Laxus all but whispered. "You do not get to use him – get to use the possibility of that man fucking dying – for your crappy little argument. Nobody with a- how are you so fucking self obsessed to think that this is okay?"

He flinched a little when he felt a hand place itself on his lower back. Quickly, he turned around to see who it was, and felt his heart calm a little when he saw it was Freed, and that Mirajane was walking towards him. He didn't care that it had taken them so long to get here, the fact that Freed had done something he knew would comfort him the moment he could was more than enough.

"And I wouldn't be alone," Laxus turned back to Sophia. "I have good friends and a fucking great boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" She tried to interrupt, but Laxus wasn't letting her.

"So I will never need you. I will never need him, because I have people who care about me. Who always have," Laxus finished and took a step towards Sophia again. "So let me spell this out for you. I don't wanna see you again. I don't wanna see him again. I don't need you, I don't care about you, and I will never love you."

"Laxus-" She tried, voice more offended than hurt.

"Listen to me," Laxus said through fritted teeth. "Fuck off, you self-entitled little cunt."

Laxus took some time to calm again, walking back a few steps and turning his back to Sophia before he could see her react. He didn't want to deal with whatever forced sadness that she would inevitably pull out to try and guild him into feeling sorry for her. When he heard a slight, clearly false sob from behind him, he knew it was coming.

After becoming a little calmer, he was tempted to turn back around again. He knew that she hadn't left, the annoying sound of her heels against the floor hadn't conducted another assault on his ears, so she clearly hadn't taken the hint.

When he turned, the door to Makarov's room opened and a nurse walked through it. Laxus' body practically deflated at the sight, knowing that the combination of his yelling and his less than friendly word choice was probably now going to get him kicked out. He couldn't blame them, but it was still shit that it was happening.

"Mr Dreyar," She said, looking towards him.

"I know, I'm sorry," He sighed a little, voice considerably less aggressive than before. "I'll stop now, please let me stay."

"We understand that you might be emotional, so don't worry," The nurse smiled a little. "Actually, we think your grandfather is in a good enough state to have a few visitors. I wasn't sure if I should interrupt, but you asked to be told as soon as possible."

"Really?" Laxus' head snapped up. "Thanks, erm. Can I go in now?"

"Of course," The nurse smiled and held the door open.

Laxus quickly walked through it, not sparing Sophia so much as a glance. Freed and Mirajane didn't follow him into the room, both knowing that this was something that Laxus needed to do alone, just as he needed to vent to Sophia and get everything off his chest without them lingering around him. Now alone in the corridor with her, they both looked towards Sophia. Freed's gaze was strong and unforgiving, and Mirajane had her arms crossed and a stony expression on her face. Sophia had since stopped her false crying.

"What?" She almost snapped. So she wasn't trying to be polite to them, which neither cared about.

"Why are you here?" Freed replied, his voice equally hostile and impatient. "I think my boyfriend made it perfectly clear that he wants you to leave."

"I've just as much a right to be here as the two of you."

"Just go," Mirajane said, almost exhausted. "You clearly don't care about him, so why are you even trying. Just go to the prison, get with the man who abused the son you don't deserve, and live out your crappy little life without ruining his."

She looked at them with almost disgust – it wouldn't be hard to believe she thought that they had no right to speak to her in the way that they were – and turned with a small huff. Her boots were clicking against the tiles of the floor a moment later as she left. Freed and Mirajane shared a glance, both glad that the woman was gone.

Good. For the first time in the night, there was calm.

* * *

Laxus didn't know what to expect when he walked into the room. Perhaps his grandfather frail looking in bed, tubes coming out of him. Perhaps doctors fussing over him with clipboards, trying to understand what had caused his heart attack. Perhaps something that would bring all his nervousness back to the surface. But, despite how insistent his mind seemed to be on convincing him that only the worse would happen, he needed to see Makarov.

And thank god he did.

Makarov wasn't fine, he couldn't say that. He was a little more pale than normal and looked tiny in the hospital bed that he laid on, but he wasn't as bad as he could have been. He was smiling, talking to a doctor about something, and it did wonders for Laxus' nervousness.

The blonde was slow to walk to the bed and placed his hands on the small railing around it as he looked over his grandfather. He knew that the nurses wouldn't have lied when they said he was doing well considering what had happened but being able to see him first hand actually made him believe what he had been told.

"Ah, there you are my boy," Makarov smiled as he looked towards Laxus.

"Hey," Laxus said, his voice not having the same amount of enthusiasm that his grandfathers did. "Erm, how are you feeling?"

"Not so bad really," Makarov tried to shuffle back against the pillows. "All things considered."

"Good," Laxus still felt a little dazed by the situation. He looked towards the doctor, who he remained in the room. "I-I know what happened, but do you know why. Like, what actually caused it to happen?"

"Well, his age makes him more susceptible to things such as this," The doctor explained, Laxus giving him his full attention. "There were a few factors that led to it, but we think the main trigger was that he was cooking at the time and managed to burn some of his arm. That was what broke the camel's back, as it were."

Laxus' eyes snapped towards his grandfather. He had burnt himself? There wasn't anything obvious to show that having happened, and surely the doctor would have mentioned it less flippantly if it was something serious, but it still bad enough that it had kicked off a damn heart attack. Was he that sensitive? That frail?

"I-Is there… will it happen again?" He found himself asking.

"We can't say it won't happen with full certainty," The doctor began, and Laxus' heart jumped into his throat. "But we can advise you on some ways to lower that chance significantly. Mainly lifestyle changes, he's already agreed to have a dietitian visit him once a week after he's discharged in a week or two. They'll check his health and change his diet. Lowering his sodium intake, encouraging more regular exercise and such. If he sticks with this, the chances of this happening again are very low."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded, and his heartbeat calmed yet again.

"Of course," The doctor nodded. "I'll let the two of you speak alone. If you need the nurse's attention again, the bell on the side of the bed will bring someone here as soon as possible."

With a small nod, Laxus watched as the doctor left and he was allowed time alone with his grandfather. He let himself untense completely now, crouching down and resting his head against the cold metal bar of the bed. Makarov was okay, the doctors were being optimistic, and that was all that Laxus needed to know.

He could feel the old man's eyes on him but didn't care. He needed a few moments to completely decompress, and he suspected that Makarov knew that. For the moment, all he could hear was the muffled sound of the clock in the hallway.

"You're okay?" He asked one more time, needing to hear it from Makarov's own words.

"I'm okay," Makarov confirmed, his voice serious. But then he grinned and spoke with his usual jovial tone. "Now stand up straight, brat. I'm not having you pulling a muscle and getting dragged away. Embarrassing enough having a heart attack because of some warm water, let alone you twitching around on the floor."

Laxus chuckled a little, even if it was slightly forced. He did as he was told and was glad to see that his grandfather was willing to laugh about it.

"How long were you waiting?" Makarov asked.

"Not too long. Don't worry about it," Laxus said passively, but the expression he got from his grandfather clearly showed his disbelief at what he said. "A couple of hours at most, but don't sweat it. Freed was with me so it wasn't like I was alone."

"I'm glad," Makarov grinned, though Laxus could see his expression change. "He better not be the only person out there, because I could hear what you were saying and if that's how you treat your boyfriend, I swear to god I'm gonna sign you up to some military training thing and turn you into a good boyfriend the second I get some Wi-Fi."

With a small, not forced chuckle, Laxus shook his head. "I didn't say it to Freed. I'll tell you about it later."

"You better, because I don't like hearing you use that language without reason," Makarov said in an almost fatherly tone. A tone he had actually earned. "Now, you're either going to bring that boyfriend of yours in here so I can finally meet him for real, or I'm going to keep talking about your 'potty mouth'."

Now rolling his eyes, Laxus nodded a little and walked to the door. Previously, he had been a little nervous about having Freed meet Makarov – the old man was an explosion of embarrassment when he wanted to be – but now he didn't have the energy for that. As he opened the door, he looked back to Makarov, and smiled a little.

When he turned back to the corridor, he saw that Sophia was no longer there. Good. His boyfriend and friend were sitting on the chairs that he had been on a little while before. He looked directly at Freed, who seemed to sense his lightened mood.

"Old man wants to meet you," Laxus nodded to the room.

"Of course," Freed stood up, trying to ignore the teasing 'good luck' from Mirajane.

Laxus chuckled a little and held the door open for Freed to walk in. When the gambler entered the room, he looked towards the bed and must have gone through the same train of thought that Laxus had, before settling on his regular neutral expression. Laxus followed quickly, and looked between the man who raised him and the man who he had considered confessing his love for earlier that day. Wow, that seemed like a while ago.

"Hello, sir," Freed said, Makarov laughing a little.

"Someone with manners. Laxus usually repels people like that," He chuckled, and Laxus could see a small smile forming on Freed's face from the corner of his eye. "But it's nice to finally meet to man who stole my brat's heart. You couldn't do me a favour and steal mine too, it's being a right bitch with me today."

"Well, I have been told I'm rather charming," Freed mockingly mused. "I could certainly try, your grandson might get jealous though."

"He's always jealous, can't control himself," Makarov cackled. "And it's good to know you've got a spine. You'll need it, dealing with that bastard all the time."

Instead of getting annoyed at the teasing at his expense, Laxus found himself smiling. The man he loved and the man who cared for him more than anyone else had were talking as if they were old friends. There was no tension, no stupid threats about Freed hurting him and the repercussions of that happened, no great drama. They were just getting along, enjoying each other's company and, under the circumstances, having a pretty good time together.

Yeah, this was what family was. And, even if it took some time to form, Laxus was glad to have one.


	25. Chapter 25 - The Home of the Heart

**Happy Holidays everyone! And if you're not celebrating, happy Tuesday! So here we are, the penultimate chapter of my little fic, with only one more chapter to go. The final is going to be uploaded on New year's Eve, and it's an extra long one, so I hope you look forward to that and enjoy this.**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. H** **ope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five – The Home of The Heart**

There were few moments in his life that were faultless. This was one of them.

Laxus found himself sitting in the kitchen of Makarov's apartment, with the smell of a partway-cooked mushroom julienne wafting around the room and invading his senses. He rested his arms on the kitchen table with a soft smile on his face, looking at his grandfather as he cooked and his boyfriend as he occasionally asked questions about the process of making the Russian dish. The entire situation was domestic, calm, and infinitely more comfortable than Laxus could have hoped for, and he was relishing in the moment.

Makarov had been out of hospital for a week and a half. Every other day he had been visited by his new dietitian and nurse – an apparently formidable woman named Porlyusica – and he had been doing well. It wouldn't be long before the dietitian would only come once a week, and she had decided to give him the equivalent of a 'cheat day' on his new diet. He had taken the opportunity with open arms, inviting Freed and Laxus over for dinner and cooking a very dairy heavy dish.

And Laxus was so glad that he had.

It was just perfect. His grandfather and his boyfriend had – despite Laxus' previous worries about the two of them not getting along – proven themselves capable of being pretty good friends. Even if the majority of the conversation was just Makarov talking his usual endless nonsense with Freed only interjecting on occasion, he knew that the gambler was doing more than just humouring him.

As Freed asked something about the sauce, the blonde leant back against the chair he was on and closed his eyes. With what had happened with Makarov's health, something from the night of their date had been pushed to the back of Laxus' mind. Something that, in this situation, Laxus found hard to ignore.

He was ready to confess his love for Freed.

It sounded so stupid when put that way; so juvenile. But there was no other way to define it; he had fallen in love with Freed and wanted him to know. Perhaps it had happened too early, perhaps if he told someone then maybe they would say he was overcompensating for his issues with his family, but he really didn't give a damn. Because he knew what he felt, and nobody could change that.

As convincing a statement that was, it was harder to believe when he needed to act on it.

Hypothetically confessing to Freed wasn't difficult at all, all he needed to do was say that he was happier than he had ever been before, that he filled him with an electric burning that was impossible to fight, and that he was in love with him.

In reality, there had been two times when he had tried to get the words out and neither went well. The first had been on their date, and how that ended was obvious. The other time was two days prior, where there had been a storm and Freed had insisted that he drive Laxus to his door, so he didn't need to walk through it. As Laxus had tried to speak, he stumbled, second-guessed himself, and made up some half assed excuse before retreating into the building.

Not his finest moment. Nor the most dignified.

After that had happened, Laxus had decided that the next moment he felt the urge to tell him, he was going to force himself to do it. When he made that decision, it hadn't seemed daunting at all. But it did now, mainly because he really felt the need to tell Freed in that very moment. Which was nauseating, as not only would he have to deal with the actual confession, but he would likely have to do it in front of his grandfather. And who the hell could guess how he would react if he heard that?

Thankfully, even the most pressing of self-contained existential crisis could not survive the loud cackle of a laugh that Laxus had long since come to partner with Makarov doing something embarrassing.

"He never usually lets me tell that story," Makarov chuckled, looking towards Laxus. "Whenever I tried to in the past he starts yelling. Consider yourself lucky."

Bastard! He was trying to embarrass him. And Laxus didn't even know what story he was talking about. There was more than one he didn't like repeating…

He looked towards Freed and was only met with an amused expression and a slight raised eyebrow. Well, either the story couldn't have been that bad because Freed wasn't laughing at him, or he was just using his poker face to make this hell worse for him. He should have gone with his instincts and never let the two of them meet; this was so much worse than them arguing.

Okay, it wasn't, but they were ganging up on him and he was allowed to exaggerate.

"Look at his face," Makarov continued with a large smile. "Anyway, food's nearly done. You boys set the table."

Laxus half considered glaring at his grandfather for his demand – Freed was a guest, not a friend who Makarov had known since birth – but knew any scowl would simply be twisted into annoyance at whatever story had been told at his expense. He simply stood up and walked to the cutlery drawer without showing any reaction to his grandfather.

As he passed him, Freed reached up and placed his hand on Laxus' jaw. He leant up a little and pressed his lips against Laxus' for a short second, most likely done as a way to comfort him after the soft, unheard teasing. Laxus was thankful for it, and he smiled a little.

"Bastard," He muttered almost mockingly. "Didn't earn that, y'know."

"I didn't expect any complaining," Freed whispered. He leant a little closer, so their lips almost touched. "It won't happen again."

He pulled away before their lips connected again and turned to the drawers, pulling out the needed cutlery for their meal. He didn't look at Laxus as he passed and began placing the knives and forks beside the placemats, and Laxus couldn't help but grin at the man despite the intention of Freed's actions being to annoy him. He really couldn't imagine loving the damn asshole more than he did in that moment.

Fuck, he needed to tell him.

"And here we go," Makarov's exclamation made both men's head turn. He was pulling a large pot out of the oven. "The main event. Mushroom julienne, just like my babulya used to make."

"You sure you're okay with that?" Laxus took a step forward and nodded to the pot.

"Keep treating me like a frail old man, Laxus, and you'll go without," Makarov warned, bringing the steaming pot of food to the table and placing it on a resting placemat. "But if you really want to help, get that garlic bread you insist on having with it out from the oven. He can never stick to tradition, always needs to add something of his own."

"Doesn't stop you from scarfing half of it down whenever we have it," Laxus muttered as he removed the tray from the oven shelf. Makarov either didn't hear or just ignored him.

"Freed, my boy. You couldn't pass the serving ladle by the chopping board," Makarov said as he sat at the head of the table. "My old legs aren't what they used to be."

"Of course," Freed nodded as Laxus' head snapped up.

"So I offer a hand, suddenly I'm a patronising shit. Now you get to pull the old man card," Laxus looked at his grandfather with annoyance. He knew this was the reaction the old man wanted but didn't find it in himself to care. "The hell kinda logic is that?"

Makarov just shook his head with a smile. "Such an angry child."

Laxus didn't reply, instead deciding to place the garlic bread in the middle of the table beside the pot of julienne and taking his seat; perhaps placing the tray down with more force than needed. Freed was quick to deliver the ladle and passed Laxus as he walked to his own seat, placing his hand on his shoulder as he did so. The small touch sent a disproportionately large shiver down the blonde's spine.

Laxus had noticed Freed was being more consistently touchy throughout the day, which he wasn't going to complain about. He slightly wondered if meeting Makarov had anything to do with that; it was the closest thing to meeting a parent that either would have in their relationship after all. Maybe Freed saw this as undeniable proof that Laxus saw this relationship lasting and now the floodgates had been opened on affection. Laxus definitely wasn't going to complain.

He absently wondered what would happen when Laxus managed to tell Freed how he was feeling.

His stomach flipped at the idea.

"Wow," He heard Freed whispered, and his head snapped up to see Freed holding a fork with a half-eaten mushroom. He also saw Makarov looking towards him. "This is delicious." Freed continued, probably for clarification on what he meant.

"I'm glad you like it," Makarov smiled and took a bite of his own meal. "Russian food might not be the most popular or elegant, but I'll be dammed before I let someone say it doesn't taste good."

Laxus rolled his eyes a little – Makarov wasn't particularly patriotic about his Russian heritage, but the food was a weird exception to that – and decided not to add fuel to the fire, instead tearing out some garlic bread out and beginning to eat. As the taste invaded his senses, he was reminded as to why his grandfather was so prideful of the meal; the damn thing was good. He let out a small groan of appreciation to let Makarov know this.

For the first few minutes of the meal, the conversation was pushed to the side in favour of eating. Laxus had always loved when his grandfather had made Russian food, it was considered a treat when he was younger, and Freed was obviously enjoying the new food, so saw no reason to speak. And Makarov was probably just taking the silence as a compliment.

As Laxus reached for his third slice of the garlic bread – Makarov was on his forth despite his complaints – he noticed that Freed has eaten almost as much of the julienne as he had. The blonde was impressed; the meal was stodgy and someone who wasn't used to it couldn't often finish. Yet Freed had practically devoured it without so much as drawing attention to himself.

Laxus and his grandfather shared a glance, and Laxus found himself grinning.

As they finished the meal, Laxus found himself relaxed completely and thinking about where he was again. Less than a year ago, he had been a single guy in an unfulfilling job who spent almost all his spare time at a bar. Now, he was having dinner with his grandfather and his long-term boyfriend, who had also been responsible for getting him a job that he loved. The contrast was quite drastic, and Laxus was more than happy for it. So happy that he wasn't aware of the somewhat dumb smile on his face that was aimed at Freed.

Makarov did notice the smile, however, and felt himself smiling as well. He hadn't voiced it, but there had been moments where he had worried for the younger man. Many of Ivan's problems were accredited to his alcoholic tendencies, and Makarov didn't want Laxus going the same way. But to see him now, he practically glowed in comparison to who he had been. Certainly in comparison to Ivan.

Because of this, he decided that he would spare his grandson the teasing for his expression and instead stand up and leave the table.

"I didn't get a desert, but if you really need something there's some ice cream in the freezer," He said, snapping Laxus out of his state and making Freed look up. He then continued, voice melodramatic. "You two can clear the table, right? I'd help, but, well, don't want to overwork my heart."

Laxus rolled his eyes, he should have expected the old man to use it as an excuse once he was starting to recover. The man had no shame.

"You seriously using it to get out of doing the dishes?" He muttered as Makarov started to retreat into the back room. Makarov turned around, looking him dead in the eye and slowly, tauntingly placed a hand on his chest.

"Even thinking about it makes the palpitations start," He spoke using a purposefully withered sounding voice.

"You're an awful person," Laxus deadpanned as Makarov left the room and closed the door behind him.

The blonde turned to see that Freed had lifted the three plates and was walking towards the sink, apparently doing as Makarov had said. Laxus was quick to take the plates from him – he was less of a guest in Makarov's home than Freed was, so it made sense for him to help out more than Freed did – and placed them in the sink. He wasn't going to make Freed work, and he knew Makarov wouldn't get involved and would just dig his heels into his excuse to get out of it.

As he began to rinse the plates clean so that they could be placed into Makarov's crappy old dishwasher, he turned to look towards Freed and saw that he was moving the now empty pot of food to the draining board.

"You know you don't have to help, right?" Laxus asked. "You're just encouraging his bullshit."

"He's old, Laxus. You can't expect him to do such heavy lifting," Freed said. His tone was serious, but the smirk on his face told Laxus that this was just him teasing. "Maybe you should move in and act as his full-time carer. Just in case."

"Yer funny," Laxus said sarcastically, but couldn't fight back the small smile on his face.

"I'm being serious," Freed continued as he picked up the placemats. "Its only so long before he needs help on the toilet. You wouldn't want to leave him alone during that hard time, would you?"

Laxus considered replying, wondering how far – and more interestingly, how graphic – Freed was willing to go with the hypothetical, overly dependent grandfather. But before he could actually say anything, a small chuckle left his lips and he shook his head slightly, taking the unclean pot and rinsing it with the plates before putting it to the side.

"Yer both assholes, y'know," He informed, grinning.

"Perhaps," Freed smiled a little, leaning on the counter beside Laxus. "Would you forgive me for my oh-so abhorrent behaviour if I stacked the dishwasher for you."

"Might," Laxus muttered, though still grinned as he walked to the side. Technically it wasn't forcing Freed to work if the man instigated himself in a joking way. "But if you're gonna keep doing shit for me, I'm gonna take advantage of it, so no promises."

Freed chuckled and pulled open the dishwasher, which was thankfully clean and empty. As he started to place the unwashed plates, glasses and cutlery into it, Laxus found himself admiring the man again as he had been throughout the day. Because there was so much of him to admire, so much of him that was just so perfect that a few moments of thought couldn't even begin to cover it all.

Even the fact he was doing the dishwasher was, in some ways, admirable. Being blunt, the guy was loaded and could have easily been an arrogant dick, and yet he didn't seem to care that he was doing a chore in a house that wasn't his with the hosts being lazy. If you didn't know him, you would have no idea that he could probably buy your house without it making too large a dent in his savings. It was perhaps a little thing, the fact he was willing to do help out with Makarov's chores, but it reinforced the idea that Laxus had chosen the right guy to be with.

He needed to tell him. Today.

With a sudden burst of courage, he walked forward and wrapped his arms around Freed's waist. He could feel Freed stop for a moment, before he relaxed into the grasp and leant against him; the blonde could just about see the smile forming on his boyfriend's face his position, and it warmed him again and spurred him on.

All he needed to do was say it. Just say the damn words and just see what happened. People liked hearing that someone loved them, specifically when they were in a relationship with them. Freed should like that.

He couldn't though. The words were just lost on his tongue.

Instead, he parted the hair that covered Freed's neck and placed a quick kiss on the pale skin presented to him. Freed turned his head so that they could look at each other and placed his lips against Laxus' to return the gesture. Laxus looked at him with slight doe-like eyes expression and made a promise to himself as he became entranced by his boyfriend.

He would confess his love by the end of the day.

* * *

"Hey," Laxus whispered, "Come 'ere. Wanna show you something."

Freed frowned a little as he looked up. Both he and Laxus were still in Makarov's apartment, though it was significantly later in the day than when they had eaten. The older man had fallen asleep in his chair, something that his nurses had said would become more regular and was not something to worry about, so the two men had spent a good amount of the afternoon watching the mans TV with only occasional conversation; neither wanted to wake Makarov up if they could help it.

Throughout the afternoon, Laxus had considered how he would broach the topic of his feelings for Freed. Almost all ideas had been a dead end, and now the sky was turning dark and Laxus knew time was running out. He needed to act now, because the moment they left the apartment Laxus knew it wasn't happening.

Slightly confused by the sudden request, Freed stood up form the sofa and followed Laxus. He walked down the small hallway that cut apart the kitchen from the sitting room and was taken into a small office. His frown intensified a little.

"My old room," Laxus explained.

Laxus hadn't been angry when Makarov had converted his room into an office. Maybe a little sad at the start, but he knew that it wouldn't make sense to have a teenager's bedroom in an old man's place when he could turn it into a room where he could do his work without having to leave his home. And, thankfully, his old bedroom wasn't what he planned to show his boyfriend, simply just a way to get there.

He walked to the window on the back wall and pushed it open, getting hit by a brisk but not unpleasant breeze. After sending a smirk to Freed, who still seemed confused, he put his leg through the window and started to climb through it.

Because Makarov's apartment block offered multiple sizes of apartments, the actual building thinned out after a few stories. Makarov lived on the first layer of smaller apartments, meaning that outside of Laxus' old window there was a layer of tiled roof. It was pretty large, had a rail at the end and was the entrance to the fire only fire escape of the apartment. Laxus had used the space as a makeshift balcony throughout his teenage years, and wanted to share it with Freed.

"This used to be my hideout," Laxus explained, sitting on the tiles and motioning for Freed to do the same. Freed climbed through the window and sat next to him.

"I suppose hiding out in an apartment must have been difficult," Freed chuckled a little.

"You've got no idea," Laxus grinned. "Used to think I was being hot shit, though. There was a guy who sold me beers and I used to hide them here. Gramps knew about it and kept replacing it with non-alcoholic stuff; didn't realise until I went on my first night out." He heard Freed chuckle. "Turns out I wasn't just really good with booze like I thought."

"I imagine your grandfather was ecstatic about you finding that out," Freed teased slightly.

"You've no idea," Laxus groaned, leaning his head back against the stone wall and smiling a little. "Honestly, nobody has ever had more fun with a hangover than he did. Kept laughing and drinking hard lemonade, pretending to be me and boasting about how high his tolerance is."

Laxus smiled at the memory. He had deserved all the teasing his grandfather had put him through.

The blonde looked over the skyline, or at least what he could see of it from this height, and felt himself relax. This had always been the place he used to get away from it all; it made him seem like a small part of a larger world and, while that didn't always make him feel good, it always put any issues into perspective and helped relax him. It was doing that now; so many people in Magnolia had confessed their love to someone, and Laxus was just going to join them.

But that wasn't the only reason Laxus had chosen to confess here. He wanted to back himself into a corner; this was the place he was going to tell Freed he loved him, and he wasn't going to leave until he did. He just needed to follow the makeshift plan he had made.

Step one: break the ice for himself.

"Y'know when you were cooking," He began, turning slightly and looking towards Freed. "What was Makarov talking about? The thing that I apparently wouldn't be happy that he was talking about."

"Actually, he didn't tell me anything," Freed confessed with a small laugh, and Laxus frowned at him. "We could both see that you were quite deep in thought and that you weren't paying attention to either of us. He thought it would annoy you if you thought we had been talking about you and that you didn't know what it was."

Laxus sighed, that was defiantly a Makarov thing to do. He found himself smiling and fighting back a small laugh, though. Having his boyfriend and grandfather gang up on him was weird, but at least they got along. And he could take jokes made at his expense without issue.

"Honestly, I thought he told you about the time I went goth," Laxus chuckled, and saw Freed turn to him with a shocked expression.

"You're joking," Freed's voice was clearly disbelieving.

"No. Did it for like two days or something. Don't remember why, probably just to piss Gramps off, but I was gonna go all out," Laxus ran a hand over his face in slight embarrassment. "Even asked Gramps to buy me some black hair dye so I could own the look."

Freed laughed a little at that, and Laxus could feel the other man press his side against his own. "Please tell me you looked how you do now. Because a goth with a body like yours would just be… perfect."

"Pretty close, actually," Laxus admitted, cheeks tinted red. "He said no, though. Which is good, because it would have been a bitch to get rid of."

"I imagine," Freed smiled. "It's good he didn't. I like blondes."

Laxus chuckled and relaxed, glad that he could joke about the embarrassing parts of his life with Freed. Again, when compared to how he was just a year ago, he wouldn't have imagined talking about the stupid shit he did when he was a teenager. But with Freed, despite the fact he knew he would get a little teasing for his younger self, he knew that there was no maliciousness behind it. Something about Freed made things seem more comfortable; like the other man could understand him in a way that most people couldn't.

He smiled and placed his hand over Freed's, which was still resting on his leg. He then shifted a little so that he was closer to Freed, and continued to look over the skyline as the wind cooled them both. It seemed that the ice was broken, and step one completed.

Now for step two: making things serious.

With a small sigh to psych himself up, he looked towards the other man and squeezed his hand a little. He noticed Freed look towards him, but kept his eyes steady on the skyline. He didn't know if he could look Freed in the eye when he said this, but he knew that it was something he needed to get off his chest before he confessed his feelings.

"I need to thank you," He said, voice not as loud as he wanted and almost timid. "For like, putting up with all the shit I've had happening and sticking through it."

"Laxus, you don't need to-"

"No, I do," Laxus cut him off. He'd apologise for that later. "Maybe you won't say it, or maybe you really don't agree, but I've had a lot happen and I feel like I'm putting it all on you, y'know. Even before we got together, when she first came back, I came to your place and unloaded all the shit I was feeling on you, and you were just my boss at that point. And I did it on the roof as well, and then you had to deal with me cutting the date off early because of what happened with Gramps.

"And I get that you probably wanna say I don't need to apologise for that, and that I couldn't help any of it. But we got together when all this shit was happening and, well, I kinda feel like we didn't get the honeymoon period thing that happens at the start. Like, maybe I threw you in at the deep end of emotional Dreyar shit."

His grasp of Freed's hand was getting tighter. He felt Freed's finger running across his hand again in the comforting way that Freed had seemingly always done; he relaxed into it.

"Shit, sorry," He continued. "Didn't mean to make this about me. Just, thanks for putting up with this while it was happening. I don't think Sophia is gonna try talking to me again and Gramps is looking good, so I think maybe I can be as good a boyfriend to you as you've been to me. Okay, so yeah."

God, that sounded fucking crap. But at least he had said it now.

Freed seemed to wait for a few moments, something that Laxus had noticed he did a lot when he wanted to be sure he was going to do the right thing before he acted. He shifted a little so that they were looking at each other, and Laxus found himself lost in the man's eyes.

"First, I will not have you doubting yourself as a boyfriend. If I wasn't happy, I would leave you, and here I am. Second, you're right that it's not your fault that this happened. It was completely by chance and, perhaps it would have been hard to help you through it if we had only known each other for as long as we've been together, but you were my friend before we became involved and I would have helped you with or without being with you," Freed's voice was stern, but he then smiled. "And third, you think we missed the honeymoon phase? We literally went on a week-long vacation together for the start of our relationship. That's practically an actual honeymoon."

Laxus found himself nodding, a small grin on his face at the latter sentence. Freed was right, he would have been there for Laxus in some capacity anyway, and there was some form of intimacy between them even as friends. Laxus had tried to tell himself that he wasn't being selfish by involving Freed in his issues but couldn't have believed himself. But hearing it from Freed, maybe he could start now.

God he was perfect.

He could get the important things into Laxus' head while breaking through his stubbornness, and still managed to make him smile at the end of it. How could anyone be better than him for Laxus? The blonde simply couldn't imagine it.

Silence formed between them both, and Laxus had no doubt that Freed wasn't speaking because he wanted to give Laxus time to think. The blonde closed his eyes and allowed the gentle breeze to tickle his face and the sound of the city to lull him slightly, as it always had when he was younger. It did little to calm himself down, but it was helping.

Only the third part of Laxus' plan remained now.

"Freed."

 _Just say it._

"I…"

 _Fucking say it._

"I'm in love with you."

Time seemed to stop for the moment. He had said it. For the first time in his life, Laxus Dreyar was in love with someone and had admitted it. He felt a million contradictions invade his emotions all at once. Nervousness and excitement. Relief and dread. Fear and giddiness.

"A-And I know that it might be too early," He continued, unable to stop himself. "And that we've only been together for a few months and that I shouldn't be saying it. But I've never felt like this with anyone else before. There's something you do to me that just feels so good, like I want you to be around all the time and that I think things are better with you around. This is new to me and I just-"

"I'm in love with you too."

Laxus paused.

 _What?_

Freed was in love with him too? He was fucking in love with him! They were in love with each other! Holy Shit!

"You serious?" Laxus asked, and Freed smiled.

"Yes," His boyfriend replied. "I love you, Laxus."

"I-I love you too, Freed."

The blonde cupped Freed's cheeks within the moment, and pulled him into a strong, passionate, and loving kiss. Freed pushed into it, kissing back with just as much emotion as Laxus was putting in himself. Freed loved him back. Laxus had found love with a man who reciprocated his feelings. With a man who made him happy. With a man he adored.

And for once, life was perfect.


	26. Chapter 26 - The End

**Hey all. So here we are. The final chapter. This is more of an epilogue than anything else, and I really hope you all enjoy it. I'll leave another note at the bottom of the chapter to get my thoughts across but thank you for reading until this point. ^.^**

 **As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much.** **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six – The End**

 ** _Date: July 12th, 2019._**

Freed had often portrayed his life to be finished. He made people believe he found his place in society, that he had overcome the supposed hardships of his childhood, and had forged a life for himself that he was happy with. It wasn't untrue, exactly, but Freed had never quite believed himself when he said it. It felt as though something was missing, the final piece that would finish the puzzle that was his happiness.

Apparently, that piece was Laxus Dreyar.

He would never say he needed love; he could never depend on another person that much. But, after nearly a year of being with Laxus, he realised that just because he didn't need it, didn't mean he wasn't enjoying it. Because, damn he was enjoying it.

Small things had changed throughout the year. He found himself becoming more social, as previously his interactions with other people usually were over a game of cards and part of a long-standing arrangement. But now, he found himself at a bar with friends or at another social occasion on a somewhat regular basis, which he accredited to Laxus even if the blonde didn't know it. Other things about his life had changed as well, even his expression seemed a bit softer upon reflection, and he long since let go of the rigid hold over what he allowed people to know as they engaged.

The changes hadn't gone unnoticed by the people around him, either. Mirajane had commented how he seemed less uptight and pretentious than before; apparently she hadn't wanted to be tactful that day. Even Bickslow, when he had visited again, made a few comments about how he seemed more relaxed and was smiling more. Freed denied the claims, but the evidence spoke for itself.

He was happier. It was a fact. A fact that lead to Loke's comment as he placed a card on his balcony table.

"You're phasing out again," The words were spoken in a teasing way. Freed looked down to his gambling companion and saw the bachelor grinning. "I can't begin to imagine what strong jawed thing you're thinking of, oh man of mystery."

Freed rolled his eyes a little but was smiling. "I would have thought that, after me and Laxus got together, the comments about his jawline would stop."

"And you thought wrong," Loke chuckled, before grinning. "Although, if you really want me to stop, a threesome might cleanse my pallet."

Deciding not to give that a response – he didn't want to so much as dignify the 'suggestion' – Freed looked down to the hand of cards he had been dealt. They weren't too bad, a little above average but with no certainty of him winning. He pushed a few chips into the pot, deciding to raise it a little but not to the point where he might lose anything significant. He looked to Loke with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

The two men were having their monthly poker game, which had only just begun. Throughout the year he and Laxus had been together, they had made an effort to keep their friendships strong. There had been some instances where the relationship had allowed both men to get close to new people – Freed and Evergreen had become quite close after she moved back to Magnolia full time, for example – but they both had made sure to keep time to spend with their friends alone. This worked well for Freed, he was a man who treated the people close to him with loyalty to which Loke had earned a great deal, and he suspected Laxus was the same.

After Loke had matched the pot but not raised it, he presented his cards. Freed smirked a little, presented his own, winning hand, and took the pot for himself. He saw Loke sigh a little as he began to shuffle the cards, while Freed started to stack his chips up.

"You know," Loke began as the cards flew between his hands. "It's not fair that you're still good at this game when you're distracted."

"Perhaps you're just not as good as you thought," Freed smiled a little.

Loke chuckled a little at the teasing, having noticed that it was something that occurred more often now that he was with Laxus. It didn't take a genius to know why; Freed and Laxus teased and mocked each other often in their relationship – without malice, of course – and that form of interaction was coming out more in Freed's daily conversation. Loke wasn't going to complain, Freed was finally become the verbal sparring partner he always wanted.

"Speaking of blondie," Loke continued, starting to deal with cards. "Little birdy told me you've got an anniversary coming up."

The little birdy in question would almost definitely be Bickslow. After Freed had introduced them to each other, Loke's flirty nature and Bickslow's easy going personality had melded together immediately and they were acting like the best of friends by the end of the day. They kept in contact a lot, and Freed wasn't entirely sure what the nature of their relationship was. He found it was easier and better for his sanity not to ask.

"Your informant is correct," Freed said, looking over the hand he'd gained. Not too bad. "Why?"

"Just wondered if you've got anything planned for it," Loke said as he looked over his hand. Freed couldn't decide how good his cards were based on his reactions, yet. "If romantic literature has told me anything, a rich man like you needs to rent out an entire island, explode a country's worth of fireworks and buy him a forest and cover is with his favourite flowers, or you just don't love him."

Freed chuckled a little, doubting Laxus would enjoy having such attention give to him. The blonde always would prefer something more intimate, Freed had quickly realised, and the situation would probably become quite awkward if given the kind of surprise Loke had suggested.

"Well certainly nothing that extravagant," Freed smiled a little. "But I do have a few ideas."

They both added money to the pot, Freed making sure to keep an eye on Loke's expressions as they did to see if he could get a better judge on his hand. As the money mounted up between them, Freed still had no idea who would be the winner, so decided he would simply match the pot the next chance he got and see what had happened; it would either be a relatively unimportant amount of money to lose, or a small amount to win. Either way, it wasn't going to affect the overall outcome of the game too much.

As per tradition, after both men showed their hands – Loke had a flush, so had won – it was Freed's turn to shuffle the cards. His way of doing it was had less showmanship than Loke, as he didn't see the point in pulling card tricks in a professional situation; he was almost sure Loke learnt how to toss the cards as a way to get attention at a bar.

"Speaking of my anniversary," Freed continued, now dealing the cards. "There's something I need your assistance on."

"Sure," Loke nodded, before grinning. "Though, from experience, threesomes aren't a good anniversary present. Made things a little tense last time."

"It's not going to happen, Loke," Freed deadpanned a little, finishing dealing them both a hand. He didn't look at his cards immediately though, neither did Loke. "I just need you to look after something for the rest of the night, and don't let me forget about it, or ignore it."

The gambler reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small piece of lined paper, that had been folded neatly in half. He held it forward for Loke to take, who did and frowned a little as he inspected it. He decided not to open it immediately, not sure what the paper was for or how it related to his friend's anniversary. Instead of voicing this, he placed the paper in his own jacket pocket and looked at Freed with furrowed eyebrows.

"I've told you that, when we play, I sometimes put up alternative odds to give me a reason to take the games seriously, haven't I?" Freed asked, Loke nodding a moment later. "Well, if I end the day with getting more money from you than what you've got from me, I'm going to go through with what I've written on the paper."

Well, that kind of made sense. There was still no obvious connection to what it had to do with his anniversary, but Loke could guess that he had a plan that he was second-guessing himself about and needed to force himself to do. He could probably handle not knowing what that plan was, exactly.

"Can I read it?" He asked a moment later.

So he couldn't handle not knowing. Oh well.

"Of course," Freed nodded, and Loke was pulling the paper out from his pocket a moment later.

As Loke began to unfold the paper and read the promise Freed had made to himself, the gambler looked directly at his friend's face. He was not subtle about this, wanting to fully understand his friend's opinions on what was written. This was important, and if Loke thought that he was making a mistake then Freed wanted to know why he felt that way immediately.

Despite playing a game where the poker-face was a necessity, Loke's face became incredibly emotive. First, the furrowed eyebrows intensified and Freed identified the expression as either confusion or disbelief. Then a small smile, perhaps a show of support from Loke in what Freed had written. And finally, his expression returned to something more resembling how he looked normally, but still a little different. Perhaps a mixture of happiness and confusion, Freed wasn't entirely sure though.

"You serious?" He asked, and the lack of judgment told Freed he didn't think it was a bad idea completely.

"I am," Freed nodded, and his nerves jumped a little at his own words.

"Okay," Loke nodded, thinking through what he was going to say next. He gave Freed a hard time sometimes, but they were pretty good friends and he needed to get this right. "If this is what you want, I'm gonna be completely supportive of it and do anything to help. But this is big, and if you're not sure if you're ready and you're doing this to make up your mind, maybe you just shouldn't be doing it yet."

Freed understood what he meant, and the clarification that Loke was supportive of what he wanted to do calmed him a little. The criticisms were valid, and Freed understood why Loke felt the need to bring them up, but Freed was sure he wanted to do it.

"I know," He nodded. "And I am sure this is what I want. I just… I feel as though that if I do it because I win, then it's as if fate is giving me permission."

He blushed a little as he spoke, and looked down to the cards in his hands rather than at his gambling companion. He knew that, a year ago, he wouldn't have spoken about fate as if it had some effect on his life, but this was the effect that Laxus had had upon him.

Perhaps it was another way that Laxus had allowed him to be less up tight than he once had, giving him the ability to have a sense of wonderment about the universe without worrying about his dignity. Laxus was a large believer that fate had some influence on life, and was an entirely respectable person, so Freed could be the same.

"That's," Loke spoke after a few moments. "That's sweet, actually."

"I'm glad you think so," Freed smiled and nodded a little. "Though I should say, if I find out that you either went easy on me or cheated so that I win, I will buy out your father's company and make you work in the worst position I can find, just out of spite."

Loke chuckled and nodded, placing the refolded piece of paper back into his pocket, and the two men went back to their game. Freed was now playing to win, and his analysis of Loke's expressions could not be wrong. He was considerably more vigilant, stoic and focused than he had been while playing for quite some time. This was the first time in years that there had been anything he cared about as stakes for a bet, and he was going to do everything he could to win.

A nervous energy filled him as he started to raise the pot for his impressive hand. He started to think back to what was written on the paper he had given to Loke, what would happen to his life if he managed to win more than Loke over the next few hours. His future would be held in fate's hand and was written on the small piece of paper.

 _'In the event that I end the day in a victory, I will ask Laxus Dreyar to marry me.'_

* * *

 ** _Date: August 4th, 2019_**

Laxus had never had a one-year anniversary. He found himself enjoying it.

He had woken up beside Freed, something that had become a regular occurrence as he was sleeping at the other man's apartment more than his own, it seemed. The two had spent the morning relaxing, having a breakfast of pastries from a local bakery and just enjoying each other's company. The afternoon had been spent on a pseudo-hike around the forests around Magnolia, something Laxus had admitted he wanted to do with Freed month's prior. Now, as evening started to fall, Freed had said they would get dinner together and Laxus smiled a little when he saw where Freed had decided to go.

It was a diner. The same truck stop diner that Freed had taken him to when he as still undecided about if he was going to take the job or not. It was the first time the two had eaten together, the first time they had been relatively social with each other when not drunk. Although it wasn't the bar they had been to for their first date, it still had a large amount of sentimental value to it.

As they walked through the doors, Laxus found himself smiling. It was just as comforting, welcoming and warming as he expected it to be. Given the time of day, it was almost empty other than the staff, which was fine with Laxus as he preferred the privacy.

Freed walked them to the same table they had eaten at before, in the far corner of the diner beside a large window. As Laxus slid into his side of the booth, he wondered if Freed would have pulled out his chair if they had chairs to pull out, or if he would do it for Freed. Knowing their luck, they would somehow manage to both do it at the same time and would stubbornly refuse to sit until the other did; he smiled at the idea.

"You okay?" Freed asked, pulling the menu out from behind it's stand.

"Great," Laxus grinned.

He silently took the menu offered to him. He quickly scanned through what was offered, deciding that, from what was offered, he would probably end up having ribs and fries. It wasn't the most elegant thing to eat, and probably wasn't the kind of thing you were meant to order on an anniversary, but Laxus doubted Freed cared.

As he considered what he was going to drink – probably something non-alcoholic, even though Freed would end up driving – he found his hand straying to the small parcel beside him. It was a simple box, wrapped in brown paper with a small brown string tying it together; Mirajane had been the one to wrap it. It was his anniversary gift to Freed; the gambler had insisted that they wait until their meal until they exchanged them, and Laxus was looking forward to seeing how the other man would react when he saw what it was.

Freed placed his menu down on the table, and saw that Laxus was distracted by his own gift and wasn't paying much attention to him. He took the short moment to reach into his jacket pocked to reaffirm what he already knew.

The ring was still there.

After winning against Loke nearly a month prior – by a significant margin, as well – Freed had faced no doubts that he was going to make Laxus his husband. He had spent almost all his free time trying to find the perfect ring, which he believed he had done. He had also planned what he hoped would be the perfect date for their anniversary, which Laxus seemed to be enjoying so far, and had decided he would end the day with his proposal.

He had expected to be more nervous, but he wasn't. He found himself worried about things going wrong, hence how he had checked for the ring multiple times despite knowing it was there, but felt that there was no doubt that the outcome would be positive. He hoped that his confidence wasn't misplaced.

"So," Freed begun, making Laxus look up. "I know the day isn't over yet, but have you enjoyed yourself so far?"

"Yeah," Laxus grinned. "Really have."

And he had. The morning spent together had been great, simply spending time together without the pressures of working was always something Laxus enjoyed. Having good food and an extra affectionate boyfriend only improved this. And the hike they had been on had been just as enjoyable, allowing him to spend more time alone with his boyfriend and also doing something that he found both relaxing and fun.

"Kinda wish I could have done some stuff for you though," He continued, though was smiling. He really couldn't complain. "Just so you feel like I do, y'know."

"I'm sure you'll manage something," Freed grinned. "And if you want, I'm sure that you can organise our next anniversary."

Laxus nodded and smiled, liking the sound of spending another year with Freed. When that happened – because he had no plans of leaving Freed – he would make sure to put as much effort as Freed had to make him feel the way Laxus did.

Freed soon walked to the counter to order both their meals after asking Laxus what he wanted, and Laxus found himself looking down to his gift again. It was harder than he thought to buy something for Freed, as he wanted to get him something more personal than just showing off about how much he could spend on him; especially because it was well known that Freed made a lot more than he did. He thought that what he had settled on something good and something that his boyfriend would love.

He didn't have any idea about what Freed's gift for him was, he had been particularly secretive with that part of the day. With everything else, he had been willing to tell Laxus a few days before about what he had planned, but Laxus hadn't so much as seen anything wrapped. Still, he trusted the man so wouldn't worry about it.

"It shouldn't take long," Freed said as he returned to their seat. "Half an hour at the most."

"Great," Laxus smiled, looking back up from the gift he had placed to his side on the leather booth. "So, I know you said you wanted to leave it until the end of the meal for you to give me whatever you got me, but d'you mind if I give you mine now? That okay?"

"Of course," Freed nodded. "As long as you don't mind waiting to get yours."

"Nah," Laxus shook his head slightly. "Is it really that important that you give it to me at the end? Not that I mind, just wondering."

"It will make sense, I promise."

Laxus nodded a little, Freed was a romantic guy when called upon and the fact he was being so secretive about the gift probably meant that he had everything planned out to a fine degree. He had quickly grown use to the odd eccentricity that his boyfriend showed him, and he expected that Freed did the same with him. In fact, instead of being confused by it, he found himself more excited about receiving the gift because of the apparent effort Freed was putting into it.

He lifted the brown package and handed it to Freed, a small smile on his face as he watched his boyfriend open it; carefully and slowly, of course. He soon revealed the box that Laxus had put the two gifts in, and Laxus felt his stomach twist a little in apprehension as to how Freed received the gift. He hoped it matched up to what he had gotten him.

Freed looked down into the box to see two things. The first was a large bottle of whiskey, his favourite brand and, upon further inspection, it had been aged for thirty-five years. Freed had only ever justified himself buying the twenty-year version of the whiskey, so to be given an entire bottle of its older, more luxurious counterpart was already exciting to him. He was smiling already at the thought that Laxus had put into the present, and he hadn't yet seen all of it.

The other half of the gift was in a small jewellery case, which he slowly pulled out and opened. Presented to him was a black leather bracelet with indentations spread across it. He carefully brought it out to examine it, and Laxus smiled.

"They're soundwaves," The blonde explained. "I noticed you liked that one song of Bickslow's, 'Demons Water' I think, so that's the soundwaves from it's chorus. There's, erm, if you look on the inside then there's a little something else."

Freed lifted the bracelet to his face, and Laxus was given the beautiful sight of Freed's eyes lighting up as he saw what Laxus had organised. It had taken some time, but he had found someone who could attach a small, engravened plate of metal onto the inside of the bracelet. On the plate, Laxus had written a short message in Anglo-Saxon runes, something that Freed had once admitted to being fluent in.

The message simply stated: _My Love, Freed_.

Any façade that Freed may have worn – unintentionally or otherwise – was completely depleted now. The thoughtfulness and effort put into the gift was astounding; he had both managed to find out his favourite song without having to ask and had done something so personal that Freed himself wouldn't have thought of, but now realised he loved.

"This," Freed said with a smile. "This is perfect. Thank you so much."

Freed's smile was still present as he leant over the table and pressed his lips against Laxus' for a short moment, and Laxus couldn't help but light up at the fact that he had caused such a joyous expression on his boyfriend's face.

Laxus watched as Freed carefully slid the bracelet onto his wrist and clicked it into place, and Laxus found himself proud that he had made his boyfriend happy and gotten him something that he actually liked, rather than something that was more of a hollow gesture more than anything else. So, even if he felt as though Freed's gift was better than his own, he knew that he had done something to make Freed smile, and that was the important thing.

"I feel a little bad that I can't give you your gift right now," Freed admitted, hand resting on the bracelet.

"Don't worry," Laxus smiled. "I know you well enough, I'm pretty sure that it'll be worth the wait."

"I certainly hope so," Freed smiled.

The food took a short while to arrive, and conversation came easy between the two men as they waited. Laxus couldn't help the bursting sensation that occurred in his stomach the few times that he caught Freed playing with his new bracelet or glancing at it when he didn't realise Laxus was looking. It was a little thing, but the blonde enjoyed seeing it happen.

After their meals were given to them, they ate quickly and finished their conversation. Although Laxus hadn't remembered how good the food had been the last time they had been there, he was surprised as to just how good their ribs had been; he was glad that Freed wasn't the type to be a dick about table manners, because Laxus had eaten faster than he was proud of. In fairness, Freed was also eating his meal – chicken salad with a side of gravy fries – at a pretty impressive speed, so if he did bring it up then he would be a hypocrite.

Laxus gave a small smile of thanks to the waitress as she took their emptied plates away and asked if they wanted anything else; Freed asked for a refill on their drinks. As the waitress walked away, Laxus leant his arms on the table and smirked a little.

"So," He began. "Apparently Ever and Elfman are finally gonna go on a date."

"He asked her?" Freed frowned. He honestly expected their feelings to go unspoken between them for years to come.

"Nah, she asked him," Laxus chuckled. "Well, she told him. Said when he was going to pick her up, what he had to wear, and where he was gonna take her. Did it in front of the bar, poor guy didn't know where to look."

"I imagine," Freed chuckled. "It's for the best, though."

As the blonde went to speak again, he saw that two members of the diner's staff walking towards them. One was carrying a metal bucket, and the other had what seemed to be a bottle of champagne wrapped in a small towel. Laxus looked over his shoulder to see if anyone had arrived in this part of the room without them noticing, but saw no one. His frown intensified a little when he watched the waitress place the bucket of ice onto their table and then place the champagne inside of it. The waitress who had held the bucket also produced two champagne glasses.

He watched in confusion as the waitress asked if the drink was satisfactory, and Freed nodded to her. Both members of staff smiled and walked away, leaving Laxus and Freed alone with the champagne that Freed had apparently ordered without him knowing. He looked to his boyfriend, his frown questioning the arrival of the drink.

"I told you there was a reason that I wanted to leave your gift to the end of the meal," Freed offered as explanation, and his voice portrayed something akin to vulnerability.

Laxus had no idea what was going on.

"We've been together for a year now, Laxus, and I can honestly say that I think I'm happier now than I have been throughout my life," Freed continued, Laxus just watching with slight wide eyes. "It feels as though you prefect things for me. As if, when I'm with you, some kind of burden is lifted from me. I can see things in a new light, with more optimism and happiness than I would have previously allowed. You do something to me that just improves, well… everything I do with you seems better, it feels."

Laxus found himself entranced by his boyfriends as he spoke. What the hell was happening?

"I never expected to find love, if I'm honest," Freed looked down for a second, before meeting Laxus' eyes again. "I felt like it would be a burden on me. But I was wrong, because I am madly in love with you Laxus and I would be willing to do anything to keep that love strong for the rest of my life. That is something I know for a fact."

Holy shit. Why was he saying this?

Laxus felt his heart pounding out of his chest and couldn't find words as he watched Freed slowly stand up. What was happening. The gambler left the booth and walked so that he was standing in front of Laxus, who's hand he took in his own and forced him to stand up beside him. Laxus' eyes widened, and he was sure that he was dreaming.

Then, Freed got down onto one knee.

He reached into his jacket pocked and pulled out a small, velvet lined box. Laxus, still unable to speak, was completely overwhelmed at the situation. This was actually happening, it was actually fucking happening! His throat was dry, body filled with the very same electric feeling that he had always associated with Freed, and his body was covered in wave after wave of chills. Holy fucking shit!

After Freed popped the box open, Laxus could see the ring. It was made out of a dark metal – probably purposefully dulled steel – and was split apart by a series of black diamonds that glinted under the lights overhead. It was beautiful.

Fuck. Fuck, this was actually happening.

"Laxus, I love you more than I thought possible," Freed's voice broke a little as he spoke. He wore such a beautiful smile, and Laxus felt his insides melt. "I can't imagine a life without you in it. A life where I don't wake up knowing that we are together. A life that I don't love you.

"So please, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?"

Laxus' body was on fire. Every cell burned with electricity, every emotion roared throughout him and he felt a wide smile split apart his face. He knew that tears were forming at the edges of his eyes, but he cared little for his dignity at that moment. He felt as though his whole life had been leading to this moment, as if this was the most important second that he had lived through and, as he looked at the man he adored, he felt no doubt in what he was going to say.

This was his fate. This was his destiny. And it all was going to start with a single word.

 _"Yes."_

* * *

 ** _Date: September 21st, 2019_**

Teeth gritted and body tense, Laxus focused all efforts on pushing the weighted bar upwards so that his arms could become straight. It was heavier than his usual weight, an admittedly impressive amount considering it was making the man struggle in a way that he hadn't in years. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to work through the burn that was rushing its way through his overworked arms as he exercised.

The reason for his overexertion in working out was his wedding. Although it had only been a little over a month since he and Freed had gotten engaged, they were both working towards making the day as perfect as it could be. Part of that included making sure they were in shape.

Wedding planning was happening in an… informal way. They had both decided that they would not hire a wedding planner – neither wanted their wedding day to be twisted into some kind of 'statement' because it was between two men by someone who didn't know them and didn't care about what they wanted – and instead they were working with a mixture of online assistance as well as help from their friends; Mirajane had been incredibly insistent that she help in any way that they needed, and both men were incredibly thankful for it, even if she did occasionally get too excited.

One piece of advice they had gotten was to start their wedding diet immediately. Freed had dismissed this, claiming that they were both incredibly healthy and didn't need to worry about their pictures, but Laxus had been intrigued. He liked to push his limits and had somewhat felt he was letting himself go in his fitness – again, Freed disputed this – so he saw this as a good opportunity to see how in shape he could make himself become.

He had decided he would get Elfman's help for this. Laxus knew a fair amount about keeping himself healthy, but Elfman had perfect it. So, with Elfman's help, he could make strives in his fitness and not worry about taking things too far or hurting himself. They'd set a target weight, something feasible that Laxus could achieve well before the wedding date that he and Freed had chosen – they had decided to set it in late January of the next year – and would then maintain it when he had reached it; this plan also took away the stress of having to retailor a suit at the last moment because it couldn't fit.

"Come on, man," Elfman said, brining Laxus' focus back. "Nearly got it."

Spurred on, Laxus seemed to gain a second burst of adrenaline and raised his arms higher, managing to make them straight and hold aloft the heavy weight in triumph. He then placed it on the bar rest, letting his arms loll to the side in relaxation.

"Forgot you were such a hardass," Laxus muttered, sitting up and panting.

"It's what you signed up for," Elfman said, handing Laxus a hand towel to clear his face of the sweat that had formed. "You know it ain't easy to gain muscle, man. You've been going easy on yourself."

Laxus was too busy panting to reply, having forgotten how seriously Elfman took his job. It should have been obvious, considering that Elfman looked as though he had replaced some of his bones with muscles, but Laxus knew that he could handle it. Like Elfman had said, he'd signed up for it himself and he wasn't going to give up because of a little bit of pain.

As he recovered and drained some of his water, Laxus looked the room. It was late now, so the gym was mainly empty, but it was the same as always. The upbeat music was still blasting from the speakers, the bright lights reflected off the blue walls, and the faint smell of sweat assaulted the senses.

If he weren't as tired, Laxus would perhaps chuckle a little. He was almost in the exact same place where he had first laid eyes on Freed – only two benches over, actually – and now he was going to marry the guy. It was funny to think that the guy who had slightly captured the attention of his younger self a few years ago was soon going to become his husband, and the guy who had nearly set them up and could have kickstarted their relationships early was here with him. It really did feel like they were fated to be together, with how close they had come before.

He wondered what would have happened if he had taken up Elfman's offer of getting Freed's number. Any number of things could have happened, maybe they would already be married and living happily as husbands, or maybe the timing wouldn't have been right and they wouldn't have lasted.

That didn't matter, though. Because they were engaged now, Laxus was happy now, and he wouldn't take life any other way.

"Come on man," Elfman spoke up after letting Laxus rest for a moment. "You gotta stretch, or you ain't gonna be able to move."

With a nod, Laxus stood up and walked towards the corner of the room, where both all stretching equipment was stored as well as a series of mats had been set up. Knowing the best stretches he could do to settle the aching in his arms, he didn't wait for Elfman's instructions and instead began immediately.

As he stretched, he heard the sound of running on one of the treadmills beside him. He looked up and rolled his eyes to see that Elfman had taken the chance to use it, despite knowing that Laxus' stretching probably wouldn't take any longer than five minutes; the guy really couldn't go any amount of time without doing a workout of some kind. Laxus wondered if his friend would do this with any of his other clients, or if he was being more lax because they were friends.

"You just can't help yerself, can ya?" Laxus chuckled a little.

"Cardio's important," Elfman said, and Laxus could see he was grinning. "Crap, reminds me. Mira asked if you and Freed are free next Saturday? She's lined up a couple caterers that'll do the food you want, wants you to do a taster day."

"Should be fine," Laxus nodded. "How did doing cardio remind you of that?"

"You're gonna be eating a lot, man," Elfman chuckled. "You're gonna have to do a load of cardio to counter that."

Laxus sighed but nodded, seeing Elfman's point. Cardio was probably his least favourite part of a workout, but he knew the significance and wasn't going to complain about it. And if he got to eat great food the day before, then he could deal with a bit of jogging on a treadmill or whatever the hell Elfman had planned.

Stretching completed, Laxus sat cross legged on the floor as Elfman continued his short burst of cardio. The blonde knew that he could catch his breath better if he was standing up, but Elfman had also put him on the leg press – he didn't see the point in focusing on different aspects of the body on different days, apparently – and Laxus didn't intend to stand for any longer than needed. That was part of the reason as to why he had chosen to workout at night, so he could return home and rest immediately without judgement.

His home was now Freed's apartment. It started off as a temporary thing – the apartment above Laxus' flooded and damaged his ceiling – but after a week of living together Freed suggested they move in together. Laxus had, of course agreed, and most of his things had been moved in within the week. Laxus expected it to feel strange, but it hadn't; Freed was the reason for that, no doubt.

"Sorry about that," Elfman said as he climbed off the treadmill. "Got a couple new clients this week, haven't rescheduled my own work out yet."

"No worries," Laxus said, standing up again and wiping his face with the towel again.

"So," Elfman continued, and the two men started to walk towards the locker rooms. "How's everything going with planning. Heard it can be pretty stressful if you ain't doing it right, or don't have enough help."

"It's been good so far. Your sisters done a lot for us, so has Ever," Laxus said, looking towards his friends. "Basically, for half the things that we've planned, we just told Mira what we want, and she finds out a way to make it happen. Kinda feel bad, like we should be paying her or something, 'cause she's basically acting like a wedding planner."

"You're two of her closest friends getting married, man," Elfman chuckled. "The fact you're involving her at all is like a gift to her. Although, if you don't at least make her a bridesmaid or whatever the guy alternative is, she'll kill you both."

"Yeah," Laxus chuckled. "Definitely."

The topic of bridesmaids – as well as groomsmen – had been something both Freed and Laxus had put some considerable thought into. As there was no bride in their wedding, the traditional way of having a wedding party couldn't happen unless one of them decided to act in the female role, which wasn't going to happen. They had decided that they would both have a best man and a maid of honour, and the rest of the wedding party would be made up of their closest friends, therefore removing any complications from the situation.

The process of choosing who would be their best man and maid of honour had been completed in the previous week. Freed's had chosen Bickslow for his best man, and Mirajane for his maid of hour. Laxus had chosen Ever for his maid of honour and, of course, Elfman as his best man.

Neither groom had asked their respective choices. But Laxus was going to change that.

"Speaking of that, man," Laxus said as he walked into the locker room. "I know you said you had to rush off, but can I talk to you before you go?"

Elfman frowned a little as he opened his locker and pulled out his clean clothes; he hadn't packed a towel because he would shower at home. He placed his clothes on the bench and sat down, nodding to Laxus and inviting him to continue. He didn't know what the blonde could want, though, as their conversations didn't typically have a serious edge to them.

"Well, we both thought that we'd have a best man and a maid of honour, to make it even," Laxus began, sitting on the bench beside Elfman. "I don't have many friends who are guys, and we've been close for years now, right? Well, I mean, you've always been there for me, y'know. I mean, if I took up your offer to get Freed's number, you would've bene the guy that set us up. You're a good guy, always had my back. So, I wanted to ask you – shit I ain't good at this – you wanna be my best man?"

Laxus found himself looking down at the tiled floor of the locker room; he really should have been able to ask that in a less awkward way. He'd gotten better at discussing his emotions with Freed, but apparently he still couldn't easily do it with his friends.

"You serious man?" Elfman asked, voice a little disbelieving. Laxus nodded. "Of course I will, dude. That's awesome, thanks!"

Laxus looked up, and was quickly pulled into a slightly sweaty hug. He winced a little at the two slaps the other man delivered to his back but grinned a little at how well his question had been received. He and Freed had been spending a lot of time together and, while they did make an effort to keep up with their friends as much as they could, Laxus couldn't shake the feeling he might have pushed away someone accidentally; perhaps he still had some lingering abandonment issues.

But still, the fact Elfman so happily accepted made Laxus' doubts calm down considerable.

"It's… thanks man," Elfman grinned as he pulled apart. "You do realise, Mira will be really pissed off if she's not involved now."

"Yeah, but Freed's got that covered," Laxus chuckled.

"Well, looking forward to it man," Elfman gave Laxus a final clap on the back as he peeled his sweat soaked shirt from his body. "Now all I gotta do is make sure you get down that aisle on time with your guy on your arm, and look damn good when you're doing it."

 _Laxus grinned and nodded. He was going to go down the isle with Freed. Holy shit._

* * *

 ** _Date: January 30th, 2020._**

"You know, you're being awfully mysterious."

Laxus' head snapped up at the words, and his expression settled into a smile as he saw that it was Freed who had spoken. The gambler was slowly walking towards him, wrapped up both in his red coat and a scarf, with hands wrapped around two cardboard cups that Laxus assumed was from Starbucks. He looked amazing.

It was nearing the middle of the night, the air was crisp and the gentle flakes of snow were starting to fall to the ground. The city was relatively silent, and despite the chilling cold that accompanied them, Laxus couldn't stop himself from smiling.

In less than twenty-four hours, he would be wedded to the man he loved.

They had intended to spent their final night as an engaged couple apart from each other; a suggestion made by Mirajane as a way to make their wedding night more of an occasion as well as following a tradition she had found out about. It hadn't gone as planned as, while he was trying to get some sleep in the motel room Laxus had booked himself into, he found himself craving the other man. The excitement for his wedding was too much, and he couldn't bare think about not seeing his husband-to-be until they were walking down the aisle. The sentiment of the idea was obvious, but it was becoming near torturous.

His first attempt to counter this was to go for a walk to tire himself out, so he could sleep the moment he got to his motel room. But, obviously, that didn't work and only made him more awake as he thought about how much he wanted the next day to come. Furthermore, his thirty-minute-long walk had ended right in front of the Magnolian Library, the place where he and Freed had first kissed.

He found himself walking in without thinking, glad that it was attached to the city's university and therefore was open all the time. On instinct, he began to walk up the staircase to the entrance of the rooftop garden. A moment later, he was sitting on the same bench he and Freed had occupied nearly a year and a half ago.

After sitting there alone for about five minutes, looking over the city, the craving for his fiancé began again. He texted him before he could stop himself; asking Freed if he would like to join him despite their agreement to stay away form each other. The reply came almost immediately.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Freed said as he got closer. "For midnight, Starbucks was shockingly busy."

The gambler sat beside Laxus and handed him a large cup of white-hot-chocolate, which Laxus took with adoring eyes and sipped at gently; it was still steaming hot. He leant over and pressed his lips against Freed's jaw in thanks, of course Freed would have known Laxus would be freezing up here and got him something to help with it that wouldn't keep him up any longer.

Both men were silent for a moment, leaning on each other and enjoying the quietness. It was impossible to deny that, despite both men wanting the next day to come more than anything, the last few weeks had been stressful. They not only had to get themselves ready, but make sure that everything they had organised over the last six months was still happening, and thankfully nothing had gone wrong. Even still, it had been a lot of stressing over things and this was one of few calm moments they'd been able to share over the month.

Neither man particularly minded the cold of the rooftop as they sat, the view of gentle snowfall falling over magnolia was more than enough to justify it. The sentimentality of the location just added to the experience. This was the view to which they first kiss, the place that had started their relationship and brought them to this point.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Freed turned his head and looked to Laxus. He smiled a little as he saw his fiancé illuminated by the garden lights scattered across the rooftop. He reached up slowly and ran a hand through the man's hair.

"It looks good," He commented, smiling softly.

"You think?" Laxus asked, turning around and looking down at Freed. "Wasn't sure you'd like it."

"No, you look incredible."

Earlier in the day, Laxus had visited the barber's shop that belonged to their wedding stylist: Cancer. As the man was doing both Laxus' and Freed's hair – who would take a considerable amount of time, given the length of his hair – Laxus had his haircut organised for the day before. It had been shaved a little at the sides and, when completely styled, was to be slicked back. He had liked it upon first seeing it, and now knowing that Freed liked it as well, he found himself loving it.

Wearing a soft, tired smile, he looked down to Freed. The gambler was looking at him with slightly tired looking eyes, as if he wasn't focused on anything happening around them. Laxus chuckled a little, having noticed Freed do that more as their relationship progressed.

"Something on your mind?" He teased a little, catching Freed's attention again.

"Just trying to imagine how you'll look in your suit tomorrow," Freed sighed, resting his head on Laxus' shoulder tiredly.

They both knew what the other's suit looked like. They had been designed both by Freed's usual tailor and Evergreen, who had worked together to make clothing that was specifically tailored to both men's appearances. Laxus' suit had a black velvet blazer, a light brown waistcoat and an equally brown tie. Freed's was dark blue, with a black waistcoat and a tie that matched Laxus'. They were both fantastic, and both men looked forward to seeing the other wearing them as they were getting married.

Of course, every aspect of the day was done to their specifications and they looked forward to it all. The venue was decorated to how they liked it, the meal was designed entirely by the two of them, and even the cars they had hired were specifically chosen by their needs.

"Yer in your own head again," Laxus grinned, and Freed looked up to him with a smile.

"Can you blame me?" Freed chuckled. "And don't act like you've been doing anything different."

"Wasn't gonna said I haven't," Laxus smiled.

He lifted the hot chocolate to his lips again and drained some of it. His mind had been straying to the future a lot of late. Not only because of the wedding, though many times he had found himself thinking about it when he shouldn't be, but also about how their lives would be when they were married. They were still planning on moving into a new apartment that would be their married home, and Laxus found himself excited by the prospect of looking for that place with Freed.

Everything seemed to be exciting him, and he certainly wasn't going to have any shame about that.

They sat beside each other for a little while longer, Laxus having wrapped his arm around Freed's waist at one point. Their silence was broken by the loud chimes from Magnolia Cathedral, signifying that the day was over, and the last day of the month had come. Their wedding day.

After the chimes had died down, Freed slowly removed his head from Laxus' shoulder and looked up to him with a soft, tired smile. Laxus wore the same expression, and found a yawn splitting apart his lips as he tore his gaze away form the snowy skyline. Having the thirty minutes with his fiancé had done wonders to his restless heart. It assured him that, no matter what happened, he would be married to the man he loved. If sleep was the only thing between now and then, then he would sleep better than he ever had before.

"Time to go back?" Laxus asked, his words being overthrown by a yawn.

"We can't stay up here all night, unfortunately," Freed chuckled, patting Laxus on the thigh. "It wouldn't look good if we were to be yawning throughout the procession."

"Guess not," Laxus grinned tiredly. "Can I walk ya to your door, though."

"Of course," Freed smiled, standing up and offering Laxus a hand to pull himself up with. "You know, you don't have to stay at the motel if you don't want to. Nobody would know either way."

"You okay with breaking the tradition?" Laxus asked, taking the hand and standing up. As they walked, he kept Freed's hand in his own.

"Well, I suppose we are known for sticking to all romantic traditions, aren't we?" Freed joked sarcastically, walking along side Laxus with a smile. "Come on, the bed was getting cold without you. You're like a damn space heater."

"Hell yeah I am," Laxus boasted playfully. "Gotta make sure my husband is gonna be warm, right?"

"Well you've done an excellent job practicing," Freed smiled, leaning a little further into his fiancé. "I'm sure you'll make a more than fine husband."

"You bet I will," Laxus grinned. "Hey, speaking of tradition, Gramps told me you asked his permission to marry me. You know you didn't have to, right?"

"I know," Freed smiled. "But you're important to each other, I needed to be sure."

Laxus smiled, raising their interconnected hands and placing his lips on the back of Freed's. Thoughtful asshole. He kept walking, keeping pace with his boyfriend as they walked towards the glass doors of the library rooftop. He relished in his fiance's presence, knowing that he wouldn't be able to call him that by the end of the day. No, by the time the day had finished, he would be Freed's husband and damn did the thought send a rush through his body.

Just before they exited the rooftop, Laxus stopped himself. Freed took another step before he realised, and turned around when he did. Their hands were still connected, and Freed was presented with the beautiful sight of his fiance's unburdened smile aimed directly at him. He walked closer to the blonde, wearing the same expression Laxus did.

As Freed closed the gap between them, Laxus wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and looked down at him adoringly. Freed replied to this action by bringing his head closer and lightly pressing their foreheads together.

"Are you okay," Freed smiled a little.

"Perfect," Laxus whispered. "Just thinking, twenty-four hours, and you're gonna be my damn husband. Kinda hard to believe."

"It is," Freed whispered back to him, smile soft and filled with love. "Honestly, I sometimes can't believe that it's been nearly a year and a half since we kissed here for the first time. It feels as though time's flow by."

"People say it happens when you're in love," Laxus grinned a little. "Used to think it was bullcrap but, well, here we are. Honestly, sometimes can't believe that you kissed me back that first time. Guess I'm just lucky."

"I was going to say the same thing," Freed smiled, pushing forward a little more with his forehead.

Laxus leant down and pressed his lips against Freed's, bringing him into a slow and passionate kiss. Freed reached up, leaning into the kiss and bringing his hand into Laxus' newly cut hair, pulling him down to further the kiss, something Laxus was willing to reciprocate.

The moment was beautiful. The two men kissed in silence, the snow falling around them and landing gently on the clear pavements of Magnolia below. The wind blew between them, lifting both their coats as Laxus pulled Freed closer by the coat to deepen the kiss. This lasted for a few moments before Laxus pulled away, keeping their foreheads softly pushed together as they stared into each other's eyes. Both men were completely in love with each other, and neither would accept anything less.

"Twenty-four hours until you're mine forever," Laxus grinned. "No regrets?"

"Don't even suggest such a thing," Freed smiled, leaning up and pressing a final chaste kiss on Laxus' lips. "I love you, Laxus."

"Love you too, Freed."

 _Twenty-Four hours. That's how long it would take for Laxus' new life to begin._

* * *

 ** _Date: February 4th, 2020_**

At a gentle shake of his shoulder, Laxus found his eyes flickering open. He made a small sound of annoyance, having been in a pretty relaxed sleep, but that annoyance died on his tongue when he saw that it was Freed who had woken him up. He sat up a little, smiling at his husband with a small amount of giddiness.

Husband. The very fact he could think that, and the fact it was true, sent a shiver down Laxus' spine.

The wedding had been fantastic. It was relatively small, with only some of their closest friends and family there. Nothing had gone wrong, mercifully. The ceremony had been beautiful and specific to them. The reception had been the perfect mix of romance and fun; the latter part mainly accredited to Bickslow and Elfman's best mans' speech, where the two men had made a shockingly good team. And the rest of the day, the two husbands couldn't stay away from each other.

After the reception had ended, they were driven to the most luxurious hotel in Magnolia. Although their honeymoon took place a few days after the wedding, Laxus had insisted that their first night as a married couple should be special, and organised the hotel without Freed knowing. The gambler had been overjoyed when he found out.

Half of a week later, Freed and Laxus had begun their honeymoon; a luxury cruise around the Caribbean. Despite boarding the ship taking some time, Laxus couldn't stop the electricity flowing throughout him for the entire time. He was going to spend two weeks with his husband in a luxury cabin suit on the Caribbean. He felt as though there was no way that the week could be improved upon, but was quickly mistaken when Freed had awoken him early in the morning.

"What time is it?" Laxus asked, voice croaking a little as he reached up and pressed his lips against Freed's jaw.

"Three in the morning," Freed smiled a little, pressing his lips onto the top of Laxus' head.

"Why're you up then?" Laxus mumbled, resting his back against Freed's chest and allowing his husband to wrap his arms around him. "You didn't need to piss, right. Cause Gramps always needed to piss at three in the morning and wasn't quiet about it. If you're the same, I'm gonna have to leave you."

"You can't leave me, we're on a boat," Freed chuckled. "But no, just a little jetlag. That, and the rain woke me up."

"So I have to wake up too," Laxus grumbled a little, shuffling a little further into Freed's body. "That's low, asshole."

"Perhaps," Freed grinned. "But it's more than just rain. There's a pretty big storm happening across the sea and, if I remember correctly, you quite liked the sound of watching a storm hitting the ocean. But if you'd rather sleep like a little baby, then that's fine."

Laxus chuckled, delivering a weak punch to his husband's chest and sitting up fully. True to his words, when Laxus looked towards the glass doors to their private balcony, he could see lightning striking the sea through the netted curtains. He smiled wide despite his tiredness; on the first day of their honeymoon something had happened that they had promised they would do together at some point. If that wasn't fate's way of showing its support, then Laxus didn't know what was.

The blonde leant up and pressed his lips against Freed's for a short moment, smiling after Freed did the same a moment later. Both men climbed out of the bed, reached for their clothes slung over a nearby chair and slipped on their coats.

Walking through the door to their balcony, they were hit by the cold sea air and a rush of rain hitting them. Neither man cared as Freed closed the door behind them and they slowly walked to the edge of the balcony, leaning against the metal bar and looking across the baron, sloshing ocean presented to them across the horizon.

The lightning storm across the ocean was beautiful. Bolt after bolt slammed across the water, illuminating the darkness and sending crackled of sound across the ocean. It was beautiful, chaotic, and perfect.

Just like the two of them.

Sure, their relationship was far from conventional. Maybe they hadn't gotten together in a normal way, and instead had indulged in a kiss on a rooftop of a library in a party. Perhaps they hadn't taken as long as normal to confess their love for each other; it was their lives and their emotions, and they could say it however they wanted. And yes, maybe some people would suggest that a working romance wasn't logical, but they more than made it work and neither man was going to take heed of any patronising warning by people who didn't affect their lives.

Laxus grinned and wrapped his left arm around Freed's shoulders, pulling him a little closer as he watched the chaotic show before him. He rested their heads together and allowed himself to relish in the love of his husband.

Heh, he still wasn't used to calling the other man his husband. He wasn't going to stop saying it until it lost the magic, which he doubted would happen.

"I love you so much, Freed," Laxus whispered over the sound of crashing waved and powerful lightning. "So fucking much, you know that right."

"I love you too, Laxus," Freed smiled back, face completely showing his emotions. "More than you could possibly fathom."

They leant into each other, lips gently touching in a soft kiss. The rain beat down against them as their kiss intensified, tongues bumping against each other and lips parting and connecting multiple times in a second. They pulled each other closer, pressing against each other and kissing each other with as much passion and love that they could possibly show.

This was his life now. Joy, acceptance and love were in abundance because of the man he had married. His husband. The electricity that Freed sent through him that was once a rarity could now be constant that burned throughout him like lightning. He had taken a risk, rolled the dice and won perfection.

 _He truly had been blessed with the gambler's luck._

* * *

 _ **So there it was, the end of my little fic. I really want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this, and for commenting and reviewing it. You have no idea how much they can help give me inspiration, and I'm pretty sure this fic would have been abandoned without them.**_

 _ **This is the first multi-chapter fic that I've managed to complete, and I know it's not perfect. There's probably a few continuity errors and spelling mistakes that I couldn't see when I was reviewing, so thank you so much for looking past them and managing to reach this point. It means the world to me in a way that I can't quite put into words, and I hope the final chapter was a good enough ending.**_

 _ **Although the fic is over, I do plan on revisiting the AU with a few oneshots; mainly things that I wanted to write but couldn't fit in. I've also got another Fraxus multi-chapter fic, a smaller one, already written and ready to publish. It's a samurai AU should be out throughout February as it's part of an event. So, if you want some more Fraxus from me, please think about checking it out.**_

 _ **Again, thank you for reading this far. I love you all. ^.^**_


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